


You Are The Changes

by killajokejosie



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel (2013), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Alfred does not approve of this, Anal Sex, Awkward Boners, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Batfleck - Freeform, Big Blue Boyscout, Blood, Branding, Bruce Has Issues, Crushes, Discussion of Rape, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, He wants Bruce to get his shit together and go home, Jealous Lois, Joker is the voice of reason, Love/Hate, M/M, Makeshift Batcave, Oral Sex, Pansexual Character, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Roller Coaster, Sarcastic as hell, Sex, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, She hands him over like eh, So much sarcastic, Stupid Giant Bat, Super hearing, Talia literally only appears to drop off the child, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Weird, Which will make sense when we cross that bridge, damage, essentially a dick measuring contest, no, one up games, sarcastic, the one she didn't mention to Bruce
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:38:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 30,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killajokejosie/pseuds/killajokejosie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, what happens when instead of the actual ending seen at in BVS, the govt has had enough of this super battle nonsense horseshit and before things get too out of hand...they shut it down...they are literally having none of that...</p><p>Well, Clark and Bruce could have gone their separate ways, but amusingly enough Clark instead scoops that batbrain up and takes him to safety. </p><p>Which would be fine, except for the fact that now Bruce is doing everything in his power to be a little shit...and not look at the bulging muscles...which isn't being done in a gay way at all. </p><p>Insanity and hilarity ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Be The Thing That I Hate

**Author's Note:**

> Ben Affleck is not my Batman. Christian Bale is my Batman. BUUUUT, Ben is damn sexy and a damn good actor so I support him. Sooo...what I'm saying is, Ben is fine, Henry is fine, but there is no reason with putting whatever Bruce you damn well please in the role because this is a free love, equal opportunity book of nonsense.

The sunlight was beginning to glare through the slots in the ugly, vertical blinds, almost as if its only goal was to be bright and annoying. Light like that could absolutely penetrate someone's mind, eyelids, forcing them to rise even if it wasn't anywhere near time to do so. Infuriating. Disgusting. Probably wasn't even ten, yet.

My hands covered my face instinctively upon the realization that I was no longer in possession of any blankets. In fact, the cheap, uncomfortable bed in the gaudy, unfortunate hotel had been seemingly stripped bare.

I suppose at this point it had been a rather good decision to leave my clothes on when I had finally made the effort to rest. This had been after the hours and hours of clearly unnecessary pacing that I had accomplished beforehand, but I digress.

I doubted I would wake my bedfellow if I moved, but I still remained careful. I didn't want him to know that I was awake. I was actually quite surprised to still feel the pressure from his weight on the other side, assuming he was the type to rise early.

Carefully, I rolled my body over, turning to face his back. His large, incredibly muscular back that rippled with every movement and made me feel small, even though I definitely was not. Not that I was paying that close of attention, I was simply fully aware of most aspects of the demigod creature.

I had every right to be. I didn't trust him. At all.

I closed my eyes tightly for a moment, hoping that when I chose to reopen them Mr. Boy Scout would be wearing clothes. It was far fetched, I know, but there was still enough small flashes of faith in my otherwise tormented mind to consider such a possibility.

My hope was wrong, my faith had failed me, but yet, I was quickly discovering the fates of the sheets and the blankets that were once covering the entire bed. Wrapped completely around his body from the waist down and the exact reason I had felt a slight chill on my arms around three in the morning.

I just didn't trust him. He was a symbol of hope, sucking out every last ounce of it from my being when he was near. This time was no different, and I was more than willing to sarcastically suggest that he was the reason my hope and faith faltered when I wanted him to not be naked. Because, as it turns out, there is certainly no possible way that I found his unclothed presence even a little bit distracting.

I could never trust him, not completely anyways. He could have had one billion dumb S's printed on his chest and it wouldn't be able to change that fact. He was too pure and good on the outside. No one was that pure and that good. It simply did not happen. 

Yet, here we both were, on semi good terms, in a bed together, in a cheap hotel. We were also in hiding. Each of us had a different reason, true, but that didn't really change things. 

I contemplated touching his very bare back to get his attention, but I stopped. I remembered that this alien beside me was more than capable of actually reading my body language, feeling the spike in temperature, and sensing how alert I had become before I made any real contact.

He stirred. I watched. I wondered what he might be thinking. Without any warning I was going to find out as he rolled himself toward me.

Now we were both face to face. In a bed, not that such a thing mattered, really. Both of us propped on one elbow.

I tried to look him in the eyes, but as it turned out, those big blue orbs of justice, or whatever that reporter woman had referred to them as, were actually more of a grayish blue, and despite that they were still piercing. I ended up focusing my gaze on his nose instead, because his gaze made me incredibly aware of everything, as well as doing a fine job of convincing me that he was able to see into the soul I occasionally questioned if I really had.

"Good morning, Bruce," He said to me, not even a little bit rough from sleep. 

In trying to be mature I fought every urge to roll my eyes at his ridiculous perfection. That lasted for all of seven and three fourths of a second.

"Morning, Clark," I mustered a somewhat pleasant sounding response. 

He smiled, in the most over the top and completely too happy way. "Don't look so down, Bruce, we haven't even made it halfway to our destination,"

I kept my expression as blank as I could. "You do remember that you are the reason that I am not allowed in Gotham right now, correct?"

"I do, but since you are stuck with me, you might as well make the best of it. Think of it as an adventure or something like that. In the end, it will all be just fine and we can both return home."

"Do you have to be so damn optimistic about everything?"

"Says the pessimist,"

I groaned. "I am not a pessimist,"

"You are, but we will work on it,"

The fact that he was being one hundred percent serious about forcing me to work on my current outlook on life made me indescribably irritable. He was becoming quite the unnecessary disturbance.

"Clark, seriously," I grumbled, because, how was I supposed to do anything else?

Stupid, big blue...no, no, I am a mature and rational human being who is on the run with an alien who is at least semi rational at the moment. I will refrain from continuing to call him that. I will. Seriously.

"We are stuck with each other for a while, we should at least make the best of it," He said again, as if I was incapable of understanding it the first damn time. 

"Yes! Yes! I got it! Now stop!" I shouted my response, anger seeming to send me into an upright sitting position the second my poison laced words left my mouth. 

"Would you calm down? No one should be this angry first thing in the morning."

I huffed. "I have a list a mile long of reasons why I am allowed to be this angry first thing in the morning, and currently you are the cause of several of those reasons!"

"I am sensing some real hostility, Bruce, can't you at least pretend that you enjoy my company?"

I covered my face with my hands, trying so unbelievably hard not to scream at him in between the deep breaths I was taking. I was having a difficult time accepting him or anything that he said. It wavered.

"For fuck's sake," I mumbled, why I wasn't sure, since my volume level made no difference in whether or not he could hear what I said.

"I'm going to get us something to eat, while I am doing that, perhaps, you might try putting the hardened vigilante attitude away in exchange for the slightly less hardened Bruce Wayne. It wouldn't hurt for you to think of something for us to do today. Ohio is not so bad, I figure you can come up with something."

I glared at him as he grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head. It was too tight, much like his pants, which I had just noticed. Not that I always wore properly fitting clothing, but I at least tried not to buy things that appeared to be two sizes too small.

It was hard to look away from the fabric pulled taut around his musculature that moved fluidly with his bones. I sort of admired it. It was an almost human like thing. There was definitely no other reason for me to be paying such close attention. 

He turned back around towards me, stormy eyes locked onto mine with an all knowing expression. I opened my eyes wider in acknowledgment. He smirked back, shaking his head at me just enough for me to notice. 

What the fuck was happening to me?


	2. Who Said We Have To Be Friends?

Clark returned with more than enough food for the two of us, but he was an alien so I was going to accredit it to that. Despite my best efforts, I did not know all that much about his genetics and that included his metabolic rates. I should have done more research before I wound up alone in a hotel with him. Completely my fault.

Whatever the matter, at least he picked something decent. Edible was all that I was looking for at that point. This definitely met that qualification and then some. 

In fact, it was much, much better than I expected.

"Thank you, Clark," I forced myself to say before giving in to just how hungry I actually was. I really had no recollection of how long it really had been since the last time I ate. He might not have needed to, but I was going to be next to useless if I didn't. 

"You're welcome," He replied, big dumb smile on his face that was infuriatingly symmetrical. Damn alien and his damn perfection. "I got you a little something special," He added, reaching into his pocket.

I was presented with an obviously bat shaped cookie. Was it close to Halloween? I guess I had stopped keeping track. "Uh...thanks?" 

"Sorry," He looked somewhat embarrassed as he spoke, though I couldn't tell if it was sincere. "I just thought it was a little funny,"

"It actually is a little funny, I get it, next time I see something red and blue..." I smiled.

His eyelashes fluttered over his eyes. I noticed him looking down. If I wasn't mistaken, he even appeared a little flushed. If that was all it took to make Superman blush then I would never need to craft any more weapons to keep him grounded. All I would have to do is flash him a smile and tell him he was funny.

Not that I was intentionally flirting with Kal-El, or anything close to it, because anyone with half a brain knew that I would never do that. I had no reason to.

"The frosting is dark chocolate, I think," He chuckled, lightly.

I took the bat cookie into my hands, running my fingers over the details of the thin plastic wrapping. "Good, that's my favorite,"

He smiled that big...wait, wait...I've got this, he smiled his big, goofy alien smile that I found just a little bit endearing. Again. I would never tell that to his face. I wouldn't ever have to, but it was under lock and key, regardless.

"I had a feeling," He finally said, barely above a whisper.

We finished our strange meal in silence. Clark glanced up at me more than a couple of times. Then again, I had moved my hand to run my fingers over the strange gesture that was the cookie multiple times. We were both behaving a bit oddly. 

After he finished eating, much before me and I am not a slow eater by any means, he rose from his seat. He seemed to be buzzing with energy. Perhaps, there had been some more to the whole 'powered by the sun' concept that I had yet to uncover. 

"Did you think of something for us to do today?" He asked as he walked over to the window to bask in the ridiculous light still shining through.

He whipped open the blinds, forcing me to see the sunlight in all of its glory. It was nauseating. 

I sighed. "Now, why on earth would you think I had done that?"

He shrugged. Fair enough. I accepted that response.

"Are you alright? I mean, with everything that is going on, not being able to go home."

His eyes met mine and in that moment I could see him, right through him. He was putting up an iron clad front of happiness, when deep down inside somewhere he was crying. He had failed a city. He missed her.

"I have to be okay with it because it is my fault, I don't have a choice in the matter. What matters right now is that you and I are safe, and our loved ones remain safe in our absence."

"Your outlook isn't always so cheerful, is it?"

"No, not always, but I try,"

"You don't have to be the blooming beacon of hope all the time, Boy Scout, you do know that, right?"

The side of his mouth turned up ever-so-slightly in a half smile as his eyes brightened. "Do you realize that this is the most we have actually spoken, especially civilly, since we left Gotham?"

"Shh...don't talk about it, you are going to ruin the moment,"

"Well," He sat on the edge of the bed. "We really do need to occupy ourselves, it is imperative," 

I looked at my phone. Time was going by slower than I had wanted it to be. He was right, we needed to do something or it was going to be a long few weeks. I had no access to any of my funds, minus the cash that was in my wallet, or my tech. We were going to need to get creative.

On a side note, thank goodness for my above military grade encryption that allowed me to open up a web browser without setting off some sort of alarm that alerted the government to Clark and my whereabouts. Neither of us needed that.

"As it turns, we are not that far from Sandusky,"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What's in Sandusky?"

"Roller Coasters,"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Bruce,"

"Why not? Are you afraid?"

"No, I just haven't ever been on one before,"

I thought about that. It was an interesting topic. It could have made for quite the experiment. _What happens when the Kryptonian rides the giga coaster?_ If he was actually afraid of it then it would only make things better.

"Right, well, I am going to take a quick shower, try to get the stench of sweat off of me," I said, brushing past him.

I caught a whiff of his scent. It had been the same amount of time since he had showered. Clearly the fact that he smelled better than most cologne I owned had to be attributed to his alienness. As much as I wanted to punch him in his perfect face most of the time, it was hard not to be envious of him.

It also seemed like the more I tried to push certain thoughts out of my head, the harder other things became.

I shut the bathroom door behind me, leaning up against it, taking deep breaths. I couldn't bring myself to look into the mirror. I was not a fan of who I was at the given moment. 

I finally steadied my breathing. I moved my hands from their respective spots against the door before attempting to step forward and undress.

I didn't even want to begin thinking about what was going through Clark's head if he was listening to my strange breathing. 

However, my attempts to not think about that only made my thoughts of him even stronger, which did nothing to help my other situation.

There was the lightest rapping of knuckles at the bathroom door. "Bruce? May I come in?"

I looked at the door. I couldn't have been more perplexed in that second. I knew that I had told him what I was going to be doing.

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. I was staring at my clothes in a pile on my floor. 

I decided to pretend that I couldn't hear what he said, turning on the water instead. 

Apparently, he was just as capable of pretending he heard something as I was at pretending that I had not heard him speak. He twisted the door handle and came right inside without warning.

"Oh!" He shouted, covering his eyes. "Sorry, sorry, sorry,"

I yanked a towel off of the rack, quickly covering myself. "What the hell!?"

He peered through his fingers at me. "I said I was sorry!"

"Do you do this to Lois?! Because I would have already tried to kill you if I was her, I'd have a kryptonite keychain to put you down."

"I just wanted to ask if maybe you would like to go to the movies,"

"You couldn't have...I don't know...waited until I was out of the shower?"

"Yes, I suppose that I could have done that,"

"We can go to the movies, though, it would be a nice two hour distraction, now, please, if you'll excuse me..."

Clark finally closed the door and left me in peace. I didn't understand why he was so outwardly polite with every other person that he came into contact with, except for me. For whatever reason, he found it impossible to afford me the same respect.

I couldn't allow a few moments of friendly interaction cloud my judgement. I didn't trust him. He was an all powerful being fully capable of taking me out and I needed to remember that above all else. 

Damn alien.

I remained in front of the shower a few moments longer. I needed to control those dark, deviant corners in the recess of my mind before they got the better of me. What he had done to my body without even laying a finger on my, was a whole new disturbance in a league of its own. 

This could not happen. It was not happening. Not at all. 

Unless, of course...it was.


	3. Side Eyed Glances

"I really am sorry about earlier," Clark mumbled as he put his glasses on.

"Let's just not talk about it, okay? It is done, it is over, we can forget that it ever happened." I groaned. It had been difficult enough for me to stop thinking about what had transpired in the bathroom.

"But I can't forget what I saw, what I did, I am so sorry," He went on, apologizing again. 

"Please, just please stop. Let's move on, go see whatever stupid film is playing at the local theater. But, would it kill you to pull your hood up?"

"No,"

"Then do that, too, we don't need to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."

"Won't I be drawing more attention with my hood up? We will look like we are up to something."

"We are up to something, not getting caught. Have you seen yourself? You don't hide well, no matter what anyone says. Thick rimmed black glasses are not fooling anyone, especially not anymore."

"Maybe you should wear my glasses, since the face of Wayne Financial is a little more recognizable than the guy who works for the Daily Planet."

He had a point.

I took the glasses from him, placing them on my face. If someone would have told me that Clark Kent's glasses were real, I would not have believed them, yet here they were, hurting my eyes.

"Why do you wear real glasses?" I asked him. The curiosity was literally going to kill me. 

"Because they don't affect my eyes and no one will ever be able to pick them up, look through them, and accuse me of things because there isn't a real prescription."

"That's really well thought out," I said as I handed the glasses back to him. "But my eyes are already borderline, I do not care to make them worse."

He slid them back on his head. It didn't really matter all that much, theaters were dark. 

***

I was jealous of his ability to stay focused on the movie. I understood that he was technically supposed to be paying attention, but I couldn't even do that for an entire minute. I was too stuck on trying to work out a plan that would clear our names and allow us back into Metropolis and Gotham.

We couldn't spend the rest of our days on the run together. For starters, I still didn't know everything that he was capable of, and on top of that, I had a city full of criminals far worse than myself to take care of.

Of course, for whatever reason, every single time I found myself contemplating how I was going to solve all of this I managed to leave out the hulking god of a man sitting to my right. Upon the realization of such I would have him on my mind, front and center and before anything else. I hated it, but I couldn't seem to be able to make it stop.

I sighed. Perhaps, just a few volume levels above what I had originally intended, but there was no taking it back now.

He turned his head towards me, mouth open as if he was about to speak. He didn't say anything. He simply turned his head back to face the screen. 

He was lucky that there were children in attendance, otherwise I would have actually hit him, fully aware that no real damage would come to him.

A few moments had passed and he was completely in tune with whatever was happening on screen once more. He had an off and on switch that I was never quite able to master.

All of a sudden, he made contact. And, by made contact, I mean he managed to stun me entirely with his inherently simple action. My reflexes, my breathing, my ability to form a coherent thought, or process a rational one, all gone with no immediate sign of return. All I was able to do was turn my head in his direction with wide eyes, searching for a reason that would have prompted him to do such a thing.

I wasn't sure what I was feeling. Was this amazement? Amusement? Incomprehensible levels of fear? All of it, leaving me practically frozen where I sat?

"Why did you just do that?" I asked as quietly as I possibly could once I was able to find the right words to form the sentence.

"I wanted to," He quickly shot back, even quieter than I had.

"That's not a good enough reason," I told him, honestly beginning to wonder how long it would be before I reached up to touch the spot since the sensation of contact still seemed to linger.

In reality, I was not exactly opposed to the feeling. No one would ever be granted that knowledge, however.

I got up from my seat, taking the theater auditorium steps two at a time. I figured splashing cold water on my face would help clear some of the cobwebs out of my head.

Clark stood up and came running up behind me, catching up to me when I walked into the bathroom. His eyes were locked onto mine in that strange way he tended to do. He kept moving closer and closer, despite me taking steps backwards as he did. 

He backed me right into the handicapped stall, shutting and locking the door behind him. He was a man on a mission, completely and totally insane to the core unless he finished. I didn't know if he was going to kill me or kiss me, but there was officially nowhere to run. I allowed him to trap me here without even a little bit of a fight. I will never understand how I let that happen. 

The angle which he moved toward me forced me to spread my legs around the width of the toilet if I ever hoped to put a gap between the two of us. Why was I letting this continue in such a way? In the back of my mind I knew that moving up against the wall was the worst idea I had had in weeks, but I did it anyways.

"C...Clark?" I spit his name out and nothing more. I couldn't. He was too close to me. His scent was infiltrating my lungs and suddenly our lips were a mere few inches apart. 

I wanted to have the ability or even the desire to push him away, or even to block him, but it just simply was not there.

I honed in on his full, wet lips. He was biting his bottom one, staring at me as if I were something to eat.

I was trying hard to ignore the fact that I was enjoying this strange closeness, practically feeding off of his energy and dying for him to make his next move in the encounter.

My breathing, whatever was going on there, had become a little erratic. If something wasn't done soon, I would definitely burst. 

"Bruce," He said my name through a breathy sigh. "What have you done to me?"

I blinked, confused. I didn't know how I was supposed to reply that, or if I was even supposed to.

Then time stood still. My heart skipped a few beats before doing a somersault in my chest. We collided in a kiss that literally took my breath away. 

Clark Kent was an amazing kisser. I guess I should not have been surprised considering the other talents he had been apt to show off. The alien had one hell of a tongue. I definitely was not complaining. 

When the kiss finally broke, my head was spinning. The moment itself along with the thousands of thoughts swirling around in my mind made sure of it. 

At the very least, this had been an odd chain of events.

I was very glad that we had opted to go see a movie instead of performing scientific experiments on amusement park rides. 

He licked his lips and raised his eyebrows at me. Without another word spoken between us, he turned away, leaving the stall door wide open to presumably go back to the theater.

I imagined that the movie only had roughly thirty minutes left until its conclusion. 

I needed a minute, I had to reorganize my thoughts for just a second before I tried to move.

A young man in a wheelchair came up to the open door, facial expression proving just how peculiar I must have looked standing with my legs spread around the base of the toilet. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. 

I nodded, chest heaving. "Yes, sorry, I just needed a minute to myself, excuse me," I told him as he became the catalyst for me to function normally again. 

I made my way back to my seat. Clark glanced over at me as if he was asking what had taken me so long. I shrugged it off and sat down.

He presented me with a cherry cola type beverage and a box of snocaps. The gesture could have been to make up for the way he backed me against the wall, or it could have been intended as a flirtation, either way I was more than happy to accept it. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be more interesting. Plot wise there will be some questions answered, as well as the two of them figuring out how to deal with trust issues and saving people without being themselves....Hope that makes sense.


	4. I Can't Fight This Feeling That I Need To Punch You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby steps...baby steps...I'm having too much fun being a sarcastic asshole, because I am one...so...

There were absolutely  **NO** attempts at a conversation on our way out of the building. He did, however, stand much closer to me than normal and our fingers were constantly brushing against each other's. I almost grabbed a hold of his hand, but the last thing I wanted to do was over complicate things. He had been right, we couldn't return home and we were screwed if we were apart (Yay for frozen assets!), so logically it was best to remain on the good side of companionship. 

That wasn't going to keep me from overthinking things. 

The fact still stood. I did not entirely trust him. No matter what I was feeling I had to keep in mind that there was still a chance that all of his actions were a part of some bigger plan or game he was playing. He was from another planet, there was nothing really going on here, except keeping one another out of harm's way. 

Whatever the case, I was not going to be the first to say something.

I was not the one who was currently attached. I didn't have a reporter girlfriend living in Metropolis. And, of course, there was the whole question regarding sexuality. Yes, I knew it was a fluid thing, but what it meant for either of us was something that I did not know. I wondered how much it would impact my public image, not that the rumor hadn't been thrown out there before. 

This time I would just be confirming it.

I was falling into a jumbled mess. Pretty sure that my composure was gone. My hands were clammy. This was insane. I needed to think about something else. It was only a kiss. He could not be trusted, he needed to be stopped. 

We walked past two large trucks. He shoved me against the side of one of them, mouth on mine, hands secure on my waist. I gave in, completely. I had no restraint, temptation was destroying me. 

 _"The only way to get rid of temptation, is to yield to it,"_ -Oscar Wilde. Well said.

Our foreheads were pressed together, his blue eyes staring into mine like he was going to try to burn them out of my skull. "Wow,"

"What? What?"

He inhaled deeply. "I can't keep my hands off of you," 

"Why?"

"I just don't know," He mumbled, moving his hands around my waist, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I've been fighting it for a while, since the first time that I laid eyes on you, something about you sends tingles up and down my spine."

Then he kissed me again. Every kiss better than the last, deeper and more passionate. 

I wouldn't be me if I didn't find a way to ruin it. "What...what about Lois?"

He stopped, taking a step back. "Good question,"

If the look on his face was any indication, that had been something he had yet to consider. The last thing that I had wanted to do was hurt the woman he loved and who I had no current business interfering with. I could say what I wanted about Clark, even more so now that he had kissed me multiple times, but Lois was technically innocent. Well, as innocent as someone is capable of being when they are in love with an unstoppable alien. Odds were that I wouldn't have thought about it had the roles been reversed, but it nagged the back of my head. 

I didn't even think about the fact that he might never see her again. Just as I might never go home again. 

The comparison could not be made with me, however. I was not in love with this Kryptonian. I was simply enjoying what he was able to do with his mouth, throwing magnificent talent behind his tongue. I was even more interested in finding out what his hands were capable of. That didn't mean that I had any sort of feelings towards him. I didn't trust most parts of him. 

"You don't have to answer right now," I told him.

"I should have an answer, though, I need to figure out what I am going to do and what I want. I do love Lois, she's my world, but..." He pressed a kiss against my forehead. "You feel like home."

I furrowed my brow. "Home like Krypton, or..."

He clasped a hand over my mouth to keep me from speaking. The length of his body pressed against mine, looking toward the direction of the theater. With his other hand he gestured for me to listen. So, listen I did.

I nodded that I understood, hoping that he might take his popcorn scented hand off of my face. Apparently, he did not think I was able to remain silent.

"Get away from me! I'll scream!" A woman shouted. 

"C'mon girl, give us a little kiss, we will leave you alone if you do it," A man replied, wicked intent clear in his words and tone.

"No!" She shouted back, sounding as if she were making a struggle to get away. "Let me go! Now!"

I wanted to rush right into the situation, but Clark had made no effort to move off of me.

"She ain't gonna give you no kiss! You gotta take it from her, maybe she'll like it!!" Another male spoke, adding to the trouble. 

I was champing at the bit. I needed to be able to stop this. She didn't deserve it and there was no reason that we couldn't save her. 

I could only hope that the look on my face was fully expressing my point.

"Help!" She screamed. 

"On my three..." Clark whispered. However, I was worried that we were taking too much time even with that. "One...two...three..."

He let up on me just a few milliseconds before that, allowing me to make a break for it. I busted around the side of the vehicle full speed, catching my fist hard against the back of one man's spine.

"What the fuck!?" He yelled in pain, dropping to the ground.

I knocked another down, targeting his ribs and shoulder blades.

While I continued my reign of terror on the assailants, Clark quickly moved in behind the young woman. The five men were subdued in good time while she was moved to safety. 

How and why I was the one doing all of the physical work when he was stronger was beyond me.

The girl screamed again. The prospect of being whisked away by a much larger man than any of her attackers obviously not sitting well with her. To her defense, even if she was not aware that he was saving her, he had a way of making people feel trapped underneath his weight. 

Before I decided to go in the direction Clark had gone, I took the money out of the incapacitated men's wallets. It was wrong, but we were going to need it eventually and it was not like they did not deserve some form of punishment past my typical brutality for their horrid actions. It wasn't even that much money, if that made a difference.

I approached Clark and the young woman standing in between the same two vehicles we had been near earlier. He had his hand right over her mouth in the same way that he had done to me.

She looked utterly and completely terrified. I knew the feeling, he sort of scared me sometimes, as well.

"I think it is safe to let her go now,"

Clark shook his head. "She's going to start screaming again, it will look like we are her captors, especially now with all of those men lying on the ground! Look at us! We can't be seen right now! Not like this!" 

"Don't shout at me, Kent. We accomplished our goal. She's safe now." I turned my attention directly toward the young woman. "Right? You will not scream, because you know we are going to let you go."

She nodded. Clark released her. 

She thanked us both before heading to her car. I watched her until she was out of sight. 

Clark and I would have done the same, but police sirens kept us in the shadows of those same two vehicles. When Clark heard footsteps approaching, he grabbed me, shoving me against the larger vehicle, kissing me in the same way he had before. 

Aside from a whole bunch of confusing, slightly misguided, yet valid points in my head I could find no reason at all to stop him. Anyone could comment on the two of us, or the wishy-washyness of it all, but he was a damn good kisser. And, those damn good kisses were damn intoxicating. 

An officer shined his light in our general direction, but left us alone. He said something indiscernible to another officer as he walked away. It instantly made Clark uneasy. 

"What's wrong?" I asked.

I really hoped that I was not the only one who had noticed how much his ears went back like a cat when he was using that super hearing of his.

"Oh...nothing,"

I squinted at the dirty, rotten alien who thought it was okay to lie right to my face. "Okay, let's try that one again, what is wrong?"

"I don't want to tell you, Bruce,"

"That is neat, do it anyways," 

He sighed. "The reason that cop didn't approach us or fully shine his light in our faces is because he 'didn't want to deal with a couple of faggots',"

"Is that all? Certainly, that is not all, to have you look that upset?"

"It is. The word is highly offensive."

"It is just a word, it only carries a negative weight if you allow it to."

"It is derogatory,"

"It is fine. Did the word hurt you personally? Because if it did, then I would suggest to you not kissing other men in public."

"No...no, not really,"

"Then chill out. Take a deep breath. It is officially a thing of the past. Let's just find somewhere that has a bed."

The way that the lot lights illuminated his facial expression in that exact moment made me wish that I could have gone back in time to change my words and sentence structure. He was awful. 

"Really, Clark? It is going to be like that?" I asked with crossed arms. 

"You are the one who said it," He chuckled. 

"That wasn't what I meant. We still haven't finished our conversation from earlier and we are not progressing past this point until we do so, understand?"

He looked like the cat that got the canary. The animals, not the women, that would have been something else entirely and probably the reverse. 

In case anyone was wondering, there was not a single stable woman in my life. I was a driving magnetic force that pulled in all of the types of crazy within a ten mile radius of Gotham, and sometimes beyond. I was involved with the daughter of the head of the League of Assassins at one point.

"I had heard that Bruce Wayne was easy, apparently not for me though," He said, giggling like an idiot.

"How long have you been saving up that line?"

"I just came up with it, I'm a reporter, Bruce, it is my job to be able to come up with catching lines,"

"No, you didn't,"

"Okay, fine, three days,"

"We are getting warmer,"

"Two weeks,"

"That's more like it,"

"I have had feelings for you for longer than that, though,"

"Do me a favor? If you want even the slightest chance to potentially, maybe be allowed to do the things to me that you keep picturing in your perverted mind, do not continue to talk until we are in a hotel room. The hole has already been dug."

It had been a fifty-fifty shot if he was going to listen, but he did. 


	5. Restore Me

Another cheap, terrible hotel. This one didn't have stupid blinds, however, it had curtains that could be pulled completely closed. That would help. I was going to make an attempt to sleep until the following afternoon. 

Clark collapsed onto the bed, tucking his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "Do you want to talk now?" He asked. 

I striped down to just my pants. At some point we were going to have to get more clothes. Black slacks were not the most comfortable form of sleepwear. 

I sat down on my side of the bed, wishing I was still wearing a shirt as much as I was wishing that he wasn't staring right at me.

"Stop,"

"What? i didn't even do anything, I just asked if you wanted to talk."

"Actually, I kind of just want to sleep, there is always going to be tomorrow," I said as I laid down on the mattress, making sure that I was just far enough away from him so that he wouldn't end up knocking me out when he finally moved his arms down. 

"How is that fair?" He half muttered. 

"If it makes you feel any better, we are both in the same bed,"

He huffed, blowing a stray strand of his dark hair out of his face. I smothered a laugh. Superman was rather insufferable at this distance, and sort of petulant. It was kind of horrid and funny.

Then again, perhaps, I was just that emotionally and physically exhausted.

***

Despite the chill in the air, I was not at all cold when I woke up. Instead of being curled up in a ball, fighting for warmth, I was enveloped by my companion's entire body. The weight of one of his arms was pressed onto my midsection, seeming to have the purpose of keeping me from getting up and his head was tucked into the space between my shoulder and neck. 

Somehow, I had become the little spoon in the middle of the night, which disturbed me. Not nearly as much as the outline of his hard cock pressed against my ass, but it came close.

I made a reach for my phone on the nightstand. It was nine in the morning. The fact that I was capable of waking up this early, amazed me. Every day I was waking up an hour earlier. I guess, when I am not beating the crap out of people until three in the morning I need less sleep.

The way he stirred this time was extremely noticeable. This became even more true when his lips ran along my neck, and up my jaw. Soft kisses on my cheek, a nibble on my ear, a little bit of everything. 

I didn't recall giving him permission to do any of those things. It felt good, but that was beside the point. 

"Good morning, Bruce," He whispered softly in my ear before pressing a kiss into my temple.

I turned my head, eyebrow raised. "What are you doing?"

"I am telling you good morning,"

"I got that, what I meant, was what do you think you are doing to me? Did you miss the conversation we had where I determined that our physical interactions had to be on hold until you figured out what you wanted?"

"That was a lot of words for a sentence that was originally much shorter," He chuckled. "You didn't have a problem with me kissing you yesterday,"

"Kissing me and nibbling on my ear while you are wrapped around me are two different things,"

"Not really,"

"Well, they are different enough," I scoffed.

"Yeah? What if I do this?" He asked before crawling on top of me, pinning me down with the length of his strong frame, lacing our fingers together and kissing me once more.

"I guess there wouldn't be too much that I could do about it," I replied as soon as he allowed me some air.

"Good, because I really, really like kissing you,"

"So I've noticed," I rolled my eyes. "Now, get off of me,"

He obliged, rolling over and leaning up on his elbow. For all of the parts of me that didn't trust a single cell in his body, there were equal parts that wanted to jump his bones. This was nice. Being this close was what I needed. To have someone that I could be myself around felt incredible and I didn't even completely have him yet.

One of the things I was going to have to do if I even really wanted him was admit that it was even remotely possible that I was okay with his existence. That was somehow something I was still on the fence about.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but as I looked into those eyes I saw a future and not one that ended with my heart being ripped out. It was much, much brighter than that.

"What if we never get the chance to go home?" He asked, wetting those sinful lips of his.

"I don't think we need to worry about that just yet. Our focus should be on surviving and coming up with a better plan, which we haven't even tried to do."

"Well, that is what is making this so difficult. If I knew when we might go home, then I know what I would tell Lois, but I don't and the thought of her possibly waiting for me, not knowing that I found someone better suited to being my soul mate, that kills me inside."

The same strand of hair that always escaped was on his forehead again. A simple curl. I brushed it back, admiring his eyes. I no longer felt like I was going to have my eyes burnt out or my soul sucked when I looked into them. 

The alien I shared a bed with was at times so human I forgot about the destruction his power could cause, did cause. Deep down he was alluring, and I could see him.

On the other hand, he was a dead man if he did anything to piss me off. One more building destroyed by his hand and the kryptonite was coming out. 

"You chose me, not even knowing if I actually wanted you in the same way, over Lois?" 

He blushed, I think. "I told you, you feel like home. There is some outside force that lights up every time I look at you, telling me that you are the only way I will ever be happy. You're beautiful."

I really didn't want to laugh, but the chuckle escaped from my anyways. "I've never heard that word used to describe me,"

"I would tell you that every single day if you gave me the chance and I would never believe it any less. I think you are beautiful, Bruce Wayne, and what you do is beautiful, there is nothing that anyone could say or do to change that."

There was definitely a flutter of a feeling in my chest that had never been there before. It was just my luck that I would be falling in love with the very person that I wanted to hate.

"Oh, Boy Scout, what am I going to do with you?"

"Realize that I am not that much of a Boy Scout, and then, maybe go on a date with me."

"Are you really asking me out first thing in the morning?"

"Yes, and I would really appreciate an answer,"

"Sure, yes, I'll go on a date with you, let's be traditional about this now, or whatever,"

He flashed that perfect smile. I had gone off the deep end, and he was just basking in it.

***

I tried to avoid the news as a courtesy to myself. There was a good chance that by now there had been a real connection made. Someone out there had realized that Batman and Superman had been forced out of Gotham City and Metropolis and with that Bruce Wayne had also stopped making public appearances.

The government had at least some idea about my involvement, they would not have been trying to track me or keep me from my money, otherwise.

I supposed that I would be alright as long as Alfred kept things with Wayne Financial where they should be.

Then again, I could have been completely wrong.

Regardless, Clark and I needed to continue to keep our low profile. Only cash, only dark places, and no making scenes. The rescuing of the woman from her attackers at the theater notwithstanding.

All that being said, I never imagined my first date with someone being in a dark bar with the word 'pony' in the name. Yet, here we were.

At least the big breasted waitress was incredibly nice. She gave Clark free drink after free drink, because she was obviously attracted to him, and most of those drinks came to me. There was something sort of amusing about it. She literally had no idea that this was going on, probably even less than she realized that we were on a date.

"You keep feeding me drinks and I'll be drunk in no time," I chuckled, taking a swallow of what I thought might have been an amaretto sour.

"Maybe that's the point," He winked.

"You want me liquored up? Alright, fair enough."

"No, but in all seriousness, I do think that you should loosen up a bit," 

I lowered my voice. "I am on a date with an alien who is definitely capable of destroying everything in sight without even trying. Hell, I am even on a date with a man, something I have never done before. I am allowing the god like creature before me to give me drink after drink. Wouldn't you say that I have loosened up?"

There came that smile again, and with it those flutters in my chest. "You're cute,"

I know that he was expecting me to accept that as a compliment, but that was not at all how I reacted. I lowered my eyes, fighting the internal battle with my more mature self on whether or not I should roll my eyes which I had been doing more and more. 

I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon, Bruce, where is your positivity?"

"I believe that we have had this conversation before,"

"I know, I know, but you have me, and that means that there will always be hope and light in your life." Just based on his tone I knew I couldn't make eye contact with him. Even if he was less of a Boy Scout than I had previously calculated, he was still being obnoxiously optimistic to the point of making me sick to my stomach. I didn't know why, either, because he had already shown me that he wasn't always full of hope.

"Do you know what would make me happy?"

"What?"

"If the guy I went to the movies with last night showed up for this date and kicked pretty boy out of his seat,"

He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "He never left your side, he's just more of a gentleman than you were thinking,"

He stroked the palm of my hand, tracing lines up to the tips of my fingers and becoming intimately familiar with every detail of my skin. I could barely concentrate on that when I was so heavily aware of his heavy gaze.

The haunting, loving look in those alien eyes of his was anything, but soothing. There was so much emotion in his expression that I felt a push back. I leaned my back against the booth behind me, an indescribable, beautiful sensation of tingles left when he finally looked away.

My descent into madness was now official as I grabbed both of his hands, squeezing them tightly in mine. There was a glint of shock in his eyes that I quickly quelled by placing a kiss on the top of his hand. I had legitimate, undeniable feelings for the man from the sky.

"Ahem!" Our waitress cleared her throat, neither of us having any idea how long she had been standing there, listening.

I glanced up at her, pulling my hands down into my lap. Clark did the same. 

"Our apologies, Miss," I began, treading carefully. "You see, it is our tenth anniversary tonight and we do not get to see each other often. I am always away on business. This wasn't our first choice, but the best on short notice. Can you believe this gorgeous man drove four hours just to see me for only two?"

Her eyes grew large, she was trying to decide if she believed me or not. "Oh,"

When she changed her direction to Clark, I could only hope that he would continue to play along. 

He laced our fingers together. "I would do anything for him, I would even travel further for less time. He is an amazing human being, such heart. I love him. We apologize again for taking up so much of your valued time."

He nailed it. Right on the head. I was proud.

"No, no, it is no problem at all. I had no idea. We don't exactly get that many couples like yourselves in here. Let me refresh your drinks just as soon as I set down your food."

She did as she said she would. For the first time since we arrived, she also did not awkwardly bend forward to put her enormous tits in Clark's face. I was more than a little happy about that. 

"How much do you want to bet she ends up putting all of those drinks on our bill?" I whispered as she walked away. 

"I wouldn't doubt it,"

"Poor girl," I laughed.

"Eh, she's pretty, she will do alright, hm, hey, you're pretty, too," He giggled, making me honestly question how many drinks my designated driver had downed. I still had no real reference on how his metabolism worked, unable to determine just how alcohol affected his body. 

"Let's get out of here," I said, trying to turn up the sultry as I ran my foot up the inside of his leg. 

He inhaled sort of sharp. "Yes...I...yes,"

"Mr. Wayne," A heavily accented female voice that could have only been one person said. It was coming from right behind me. I was almost too afraid to turn my head toward her. 

"What do you want, Talia? And, more importantly, how did you find me?"

 

 


	6. There Are Things Worth Waiting For

"How I found you does not matter. You know that I always have my ways. However, we need to talk, alone, outside." She explained, mostly vaguely. 

"Who is she?" Clark asked with his head cocked to the side.

"Doesn't matter," I put a hand up to keep him from pressing more questions. "Now, Talia, just cut the crap and tell me what is going on!"

"Who is he?" Good, now she sounded just like him.

"Once again, doesn't matter. Please, just tell me why you are here. It has been almost twelve years."

She stood up gracefully. For all of her insanity and need to control me, I would never be able to deny her raven haired beauty. She was ever the princess. "Damian!"

A child came out from the shadows of the bar. Dark hair and skin just like hers, but his eyes and his jaw were definitely like mine. 

I turned to Clark, his jaw was basically on the table. It was not a bad reaction, but I would have felt better if he would have stopped switching his stare from me to the boy.

"Is this your way of telling me that the boy is my son?" I asked her.

"Yes, Bruce, we might not have been together long, but during our union we created our wonderful, handsome son, Damien. I can no longer care for him. You must take over, you must."

I slumped down into my seat. "Oh dear god,"

The boy simply glared at me with disgust. There was no blame coming from me. I had no idea what sort of ridiculous nonsense his mother had been feeding him his entire life. She hadn't been very fond of me after I refused to be her father's heir, something I wasn't entirely clear on. It had either been because he had picked me instead of her, or it may have stemmed purely from my refusal. I guess I didn't particularly care either way.

"Damian, this is your father, Bruce," She told the boy, though I figured he made that connection already since she was talking to me and not Clark.

I didn't even know if Clark was capable of reproducing with a human, and he certainly wasn't able to get me pregnant.

"Bruce, this is your son, Damian. I have taken the liberty of changing his last name to Wayne so that all would know of his true lineage."

I could feel the blank stare come across my face, angry as hell and dead eyes of a shark were pretty much the only two expressions that I could show to her without force. It felt heavy and Clark's eyebrows went up when he saw it.

How was one supposed to act to just finding out that they had an eleven-year-old?

In a moment of awkward indecisiveness I held out my hand toward him. Despite his still strong look of disgust, he actually accepted the handshake. It was stronger than I expected. Talia had most likely been training him from the time that he could walk to be a killer.

That was really not something that came as a surprise. Any child produced in that environment would be groomed into an efficient weapon.

Talia whispered something in the boy's ear, prompting him to walk over to an arcade game. Obedient.

 "You do understand that I am in no position to care for him, right? My assets are frozen, I am banned from Gotham until further notice, and I am sleeping in crappy hotels every night." I explained. 

"You are also traveling with a companion who could assist you with those things," She pointed out, but thankfully there was only half validity to said point she was making. In general, from a glance, Clark had been people skills, but he didn't have any more money than I did currently. 

"Yes, but Damian is not his son, I will not burden him with the task of providing for him. That responsibility is mine and mine alone. I guess I will have to figure it out since I know you have no intentions of taking him with you no matter what I say." 

"That is correct. You must care for him now."

I sighed. "Right, well then, can I have his things?"

"He has a backpack, it only contains the things that he cherishes most,"

I was beginning to wrap my head around the fact that she really was that batshit crazy. People always thought that I was, but she was something else. Maybe I was, to an extent, but it was not nearly as drastic. 

Talia waved Damian back over, he came back immediately. So damn obedient. It was probably right to assume that his obedience toward his mother meant he was going to be horrible to me.

"Who is the idiot with the glasses?" Damian asked, incredibly rude. "He looks like Captain Boy Scout who destroyed most of Metropolis."

Clark opened his mouth, but my hand shot up before he spoke. We were not about to have that conversation, especially not in the middle of the bar.

On a lighter note, I was proud that my flesh and blood had come up with such a perfectly sarcastic thing to add to Clark's Boy Scout name.

"No! Let him speak, I am dying to hear his response." Talia chuckled. Her laugh made me cringe, made me nervous, almost as if I needed to duck down to avoid getting hit.

"I'm Bruce's date, and I am Captain Boy Scout, but I'm not really a boy scout, and I do not really act like one." Clark explained, glasses no longer on his face, but rather in his hand.

I was going to hold my breath until he put them back on his face.

"Date?" Damian and Talia said in unison as if it were the most absurd thing that they had ever heard. 

"Maybe I am bisexual, it happens," I shrugged because I could not think of a better response.

I was waiting for Talia to make some sort of snide comment. Sexuality had always been an issue for her ever since her younger sister brought a girl home to their darling, psychotic daddy.

Instead she just glared at me.

Apparently, my words were so unsettling to her that she used them as her reason to get up and leave. Along with her, ten men stood and walked out. They had to have been there the entire time. 

I was so distracted by Clark's presence that I did not even notice the weird activity, or lack thereof rather.

"I am not going with you," Damian grumbled.

"Yes you are, you do not have a choice in the matter. If you think that you do, my friend over there is way too strong for his own good and he will assist me."

"Boyfriend," Damian said with an emphasis on the 'boy' part.

"Hey, I am just glad that he is referring to me as his friend." Clark replied, beaming.

I could have slapped the both of them. It would have had no effect on one and it was frowned upon to do to the other, but I would have felt tons better.

"I am going to the car," I told them, getting up and walking out, much like Talia had done earlier.

So much for the rest of our date.

***

"My mother said that you were rich, why are you staying in such a terrible hotel?" Damian asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I do not have a lot of money right now because I am in trouble,"

"My mother said that you were one of the good guys, how did you get in trouble?"

I slid my jacket off, hanging it over the chair. "That is really none of your business. Didn't your mother teach you to respect your elders?"

"Ya know, you do have gray hair now that you mention it, just how old are you?"

I took a deep breath, reminding myself once more that I couldn't physically strike him. Little bastard. 

Clark was awfully quiet during this entire exchange.

"No more questions, just get settled in, surely you have something to entertain yourself in that bag of yours?"

"That old, huh?"

I went to slam my fist into the wall, but I recoiled my fist. Now, I had two children to keep tabs on. 

"I am going to take a shower. Please, behave, that is all that I ask. I don't like this any more than you do, but it isn't going to make it better if we can't at least come to an understanding and be civil."

The wild and ridiculous gesture received in response from Clark made the boy laugh. They were both bastards.

"Fine," Damian finally said, still laughing. 

"I can see the headline now, Bruce Wayne: Unexpected Voice of Reason!" Clark shouted.

"Kent, you and I are going to fight,"

"That is what got us into this mess in the first place,"

"Ugh!" I threw my hands up and turned away from him.

"What? So, you can be sarcastic, but I can't?"

***

I stripped down and turned on the shower. There was so much tension built up in my back. I could not wait to feel the hot water against my skin. I needed the peace that it would bring me.

I stepped under the stream, allowing the water to wash over me. It felt better than I imagined it would.

However, I could not remember if I locked the door. I replayed the last bathroom encounter I had with Clark that involved me getting in the shower. It took away my ability to fully relax. 

The door opened, giving me the answer. It was him. I swore that I could smell him as if he were an animal in heat.

He stepped closer. Closer still. 

"Clark, what are you doing?" I asked.

He grabbed the curtain and pulled it back. "I think that I need a shower,"


	7. All of the Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the best stuff that could have happened in the shower, but still fun...the good one has already been written...a few chapters from now will be sexy as hellla.

He undressed very, very quickly.

He came into the shower with me, as close as he had been when we had kissed before. This time, it was obviously a little bit different. 

His hands caressed either side of my face, pulling me into a passionate kiss. 

"Do you really need a shower?"

Those same hands slid down my waist, yanking me flush against him. "Maybe I just wanted to continue where we left off,"

Those shivers were definitely running up my spine. He was causing all of the synapses in my brain to fire off. I wanted him to continue his assault on me, an attack with fantastic fingers and talented tongue.

"But..." I began to protest, but it was no use. There wasn't even a chance that I would be able to put up a fight. I wanted him to put up a fight for me. I wanted him so badly. 

I wanted him and my body was making sure that I didn't forget that.

His eyes drifted down, then back up, wicked smirk on his always perfect face.

One of his hands drifted to my lower back, the other tracing a line from my hip to my navel and then lower. My head tipped back and I let out a moan that had been building from the tension.

His lips met the most sensitive part of my ear. His breath was hot, even under the water, but it gave me chills. 

"You are an incredible masterpiece, each edge and curve of your body like a work of art for me to worship," He whispered, adding a weakness in my knees as he stroked me tentatively, the only thing he had done thus far without a level of brash confidence.

This side of him was far too good to be true.

I was willing to accept that. I was too far gone to stop him from continuing. 

"Clark..."I gasped as his thumb ran over the tip of my throbbing shaft.

"I am going to make you forget your name,"

I inhaled deeply. He was going to throw me over the edge before anything came of this.

"Clark..." I sighed. "My son, who I have just met, is in the other room,"

He grabbed my arm, whipping me around so that my back was to him. "I don't care,"

"Clark Kent, the morally grey, that's your headline," I laughed. 

He ceased all contact with me for a moment. I heard him shift down so that he was on his knees. His hands once again found my waist. My whole body tensed, I had no idea where he was going.

There was a strong mix of excitement and fear. I took yet another deep breath and waited for him to begin. 

His lips found a tender spot on my thigh. He pressed soft, taunting kisses on every inch of skin available to him.

I shuddered, mostly in delight, when his tongue became involved, lapping at me in a way I had definitely never imagined feeling before.

Moans left my lips like a waterfall. I tried to muffle them into my arm, but it was just no use.

It certainly did not help that he had added his long fingers to the mix. First one, then slowly to two, scissoring them apart. The warmth and the stretch left me increasingly breathless. I winced through the strange pain, but found myself aching for more. 

He removed his fingers his fingers completely, replacing them with his very creative tongue. I said his name over and over again. Every new sensation making me sound off even louder. 

"Yes...Clark..." I gasped, conveniently forgetting that my eleven-year-old son was in the other room.

I heard him rise to his feet behind me. His fingers returned to their previous activity, even adding a third while his other hand gripped my waist tightly.

The increase in pain caused me to tense up again, but the pleasure kept me from yelling for him to stop. I was certain that I could handle even more.

He kissed my shoulder blades and up the back of my neck. The lines he traced with his magnificent lips made me tremble beneath him. I was only seconds from coming undone completely.

He removed his fingers, the absence of feeling leaving me needy and weak. I wanted him. I wanted more.

I could feel the head of his rock hard cock pressing against me. The pressure building, he held onto me and lead his large shaft deep inside.

The feeling of fullness had me overcome with sensation and emotion. His body was against mine and our current connection had my body trapped between a cry and a moan.

No matter what his fingers had done to me, I could never have been prepared for the entire length of his cock.

"You are so tight," He muttered in my ear as his hands traveled up and down the length of my torso, settling on my hips, a spot he favored. His grip was going to leave fingertip shaped contusions in their wake.

I moaned in response, pleasure rippling through me as he pulled out, only to quickly thrust back in.

I did not think it was possible for me to feel like this. I never wanted him to stop.

"Fuck, Clark, harder!" I cried.

He picked up the pace. His grip became even tighter, even when I thought that was impossible, as he slammed his thick shaft into my ass, again and again and again.

Repetitive motion. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh, even louder from the water. I placed my hands on the shower walls, desperate to keep myself upright while he pounded me with what couldn't have even been a fourth of his actual strength.

"Bruce! Ah! You feel so good! Ah!"

One of Clark's hands slid around to the front of my body, taking a hold of my neglected prick and giving it much needed attention. I was not going to last long.

His hands suddenly knew just where to touch me, causing his name to fall from my lips effortlessly.

"Clar! Fuck! Harder! Please! Fuck! I'm gonna...I'm...I'm..." I shouted, my core completely lit up with an all too familiar feeling. 

"Yes! Ah!" Clark was becoming a broken record, yelling the same words in between his grunts.

He came hard deep within me, my insides feeling full of his hot load. He gave one last powerful thrust, ensuring I got every last drop.

I followed suit, unable to hold back any longer while he stoked me in a rather vigorous manner. He continued until my body stopped spasming and I could give no more, overstimulation settling in. The aftershocks were going to be brutal. My legs could already feel it. 

He whipped me back around to face him. He made a point of licking his hand like it was covered in frosting. Then he dropped back to his knees, running his tongue all the way up to my stomach. My knees felt weak, he was making a rather inelegant mess of me.

He stood back up, placing his hands on either side of my face. Those wondrous eyes locked so heavily onto mine that I thought I had gone to heaven. He caught me in a passionate, loving lip lock, taking my breath away while somehow managing to breathe life into me.

Maybe he could be trusted. Maybe he could make me happy. If there was even the slightest chance that things could come together for me, I would be proud to return to Gotham.

"Wow..." I took a deep breath. "Where did you learn to do that? Wait, wait, I don't want to know, I'll remain ignorant and pretend it is all natural talent."

He chuckled, looking away as if now was the right time to be bashful. "Perhaps, it is simply because I wanted nothing more, than to please you,"

It should have been illegal for him to talk to me like that. How was I supposed to keep myself from rolling my eyes? At this rate, I would never be able to act like a mature adult. And, I am way too old to be thinking of things like that.

"Clark, you are a different kind of insane,"

He placed a hand on my chest. "I can outmatch whatever you throw at me,"

The water was starting to run cold. I began to wonder just how long we had actually been in the shower. It was probably much longer than I had guessed.

There was a sudden pounding on the door. If I had to make a bet, I would have said it was probably my son.

"Hey! You two freaks coming out this century!? I really have to pee!" Damian shouted.

I looked to Clark for an answer, but he was as blank as I was.

"Uh...give us five minutes...we will be right out, okay?" I said in response.

"Whatever, just hurry up or I will pee on your bed,"

Clark and I started to laugh. The order of events in our relationship was quite the ridiculous mess.

***

 To say I was not prepared to begin navigating through fatherhood was a bit of an understatement. A colossal one at that. Not only was I lacking the basic resources required to raise a child, I was lacking any previous knowledge on how to deal with a child who was eleven. It didn't matter that he was my son, because I still didn't know anything about him as a person. 

I was a blind bat navigating through something thick and dense.

I sat across from him. The more I looked at him, the more that I saw the Wayne in him. It was in his body language and the way that he spoke. No amount of discipline he may have been taught could have erased certain traits. Those ones he would never get rid off it.

It was a fine example of nature versus nurture, with nature taking a strong lead.

This might have been a good starting point. If it was brought up correctly, that is.

"When can we go to the manor? I want to see what I am going to inherit from you."

"Seriously, do I appear that old and unhealthy that you assume I am going to die sometime in the near future?" I asked, by this point incredibly curious.

"No, it isn't that, I was just told that I was going to get a whole bunch of stuff because you are rich. I figured since I am your son and I know your secret identity..."

"What if I have other children? Or a spouse who would be just as deserving of an inheritance as you should I die soon?"

"I doubt that you are married since you were on a date with Superman, of all people, last night,"

Clark laughed. Damn him. Damn him to hell.

"Okay, that is true, but I could have other children. And, besides, Wayne Manor doesn't exist anymore...or, well, it isn't livable at the current date."

"But you don't because you can't have a life and be Batman or whatever and who cares because you have somewhere else to live probably,"

"I would just quit while you are ahead," Clark interjected, adding to me wanting to cause him bodily harm.

I had been set on destroying him because of what he had done and all of the damage he had caused. This was something different. This was my brain and my heart fighting each other, trying to determine exactly how to deal with the alien beside me. It was only going to get more difficult.

"We will go back to Gotham as soon as I figure out a way to unfreeze my assets and not cause suspicions at all. Currently, I have not begun to plan this out, but I have a few ideas."

Clark raised his eyebrows. "You do?"

"Yes, I do,"

"Good, because I do not want to spend my life moving from hotel to hotel,"

Damian was a surprisingly ungrateful child for being Ra's Al Ghul's grandson. It was irritating. 

"Can you please act like the well behaved young man your mother thinks that you are? Even if it is just for five minutes." I pleaded. I couldn't keep up with him. That was saying something considering the type of people I have dealt with in the past, including his mother. 

"I will think about it, but only if you and Superman stop being all couple like around me. It is so gross!"

I held out my hand to him. "You have yourself a deal,"

He accepted, leaving my mind at ease.


	8. A Beautiful Mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue stubborn

I had a safe house under an alias in the lower peninsula of Michigan. It had not been connected to any of my accounts to avoid people, such as the government, from attaching me to it.

If this was still the case, then the decorated Victorian in the middle of a historical district would be the best place to start. No one would give the home a second glance since it lacked all of the typical flash that came with my name.

I had spent years turning the inside into an ideal space of comfort, should I need it. What was even better, was what I had hidden beneath the surface of the house: a makeshift "batcave".

It lacked many of the objects that I would have liked to have backups of, but it had enough. A suit, a few weapons, and a vehicle. I intended to use those things in order to execute a much bigger plan.

"Whoa, this is way nicer than I expected," Clark mumbled as we all walked up the driveway.

"I might have undersold it a little bit,"

"Clearly, you forgot that I live in a tiny apartment,"

"Actually, you don't have a place to live, at all, since you are going to break up with the woman who owns the apartment."

"You know what I meant," He said as he snaked an arm around my waist, sliding me close to him.

I would have pulled away from shock had there not been a neighbor approaching. Thank goodness for glasses and the hoodie we stole from a gas station.

"Well, howdy, neighbors! We were starting to think that no one would ever buy this place. It is supposed to be haunted." A bouncy, way too happy, ridiculous, loud, blonde woman with huge hair straight out of a high school yearbook from the eighties said to us, loudly if that was not already clear.

I turned toward her, fake smile already plastered on my face. "We couldn't resist, it was a steal,"

Damian ran over to me, reaching into my jacket pocket in search for the keys. 

"You will not be finding those in there, you can wait for us," I scolded.

"That's not fair, you are going to stand outside and talk to people you don't know for hours,"

"There is a very nice park just down the street from here, maybe if you ask nicely you will be allowed to go there and meet the other kids in the neighborhood." The loud woman said.

"So that I can go talk to people I don't know for hours? Pass." He grumbled. "I am just going to go sit on the porch and read, let me know when you plan on letting me inside."

When Damian was out of earshot, the loud woman leaned in and actually whispered. "Is he having trouble adjusting to a new area?"

"He's actually having trouble adjusting to me," I half muttered.

"Oh, is he adopted?" She asked. I didn't know this woman's name, yet she felt like asking this personal question.

"No, he just lived with his mother for the first eleven years of his life,"

"Oh, that can be tough, poor kid. It will get better though."

"I hope it will, for both of their sakes, the added stress isn't good for either of them," Clark added.

Suddenly, the woman's eyes were looking directly at Clark's arm around my waist. It was almost as if, somehow, she had managed to ignore it completely before that moment.

She held out her hand towards Clark, knowing full well he would have to move away from me to return the gesture.

"I'm so rude, I'm sorry, my name is Robin Smoff, I actually run the community planning center next to the park," She told us, still so damn loud.

This woman was giving me a headache. An actually fucking headache. For fuck's sake!

"I am John Clark, and this is my husband, Malcolm," Clark told her. Those weren't the names I would have gone with, but they worked.

"Very nice to meet you both, we have a lesbian couple down the street from here, wonderful ladies both of them, but I have a feeling the rest of the neighbors will like the two of you a lot more."

She was making a comment that was directly meant towards appearance. I figured mostly toward Clark, because everyone seemed to melt into a puddle of goo around him. It wasn't his fault, he was just really, really pretty.

I was feeling a little defensive. A little protective, too. Clark was mine, or I wanted to think that he was. I wanted no part of people throwing themselves at him. I would have none of that.

Crazy? Probably. Possessive? Most definitely. This was who I had become now. 

"Is that so?" I said with a laugh that just might have come off as nervous, but more likely like an asshole.

"Absolutely. A sweet, attractive couple with a darling son will be the favorite conversational point in the entire city. I just know it. Everyone knows everyone around here." Robin explained, making sure that i remembered she was a loud person.

"I see,"

"Oh, it isn't because you are gay, I promise,"

I was going to lose my composure. This neighborhood was supposed to be quiet. If this woman was any indication of the rest of it, I had made a terrible mistake. It was going to make my activity a lot more difficult.

"Robin! Hey, Robin! Are those our new neighbors?" A woman called from across the street, approaching us before Robin even waved her our way.

"John, Malcolm, this is my best friend and co community planner, Stephanie,"

At least this woman appeared to be from the right decade. However, I had a feeling that she was going to be just as loud.

"Hi guys! I am so glad that someone has finally bought that gem of a house! Most of the city thinks it is haunted on account of the lights turning on and off when there isn't supposed to be electricity, but I know better." She was smiling like a moron. She was just as bad as Clark, with the hair and eye color to match.

"Nice to meet you," Clark shook the woman's hand, seeming to make her ridiculously happy from contact alone.

"Wow! That is quite the handshake you have got there! Can tell you work out."

Clark adjusted his glasses. He looked almost as if he was about to say something. 

"My husband and I have to get settled in, we have had a long trip here and everyone is very tired," I told the two painfully annoying women as I grabbed Clark by the arm to drag him away.

"Okay! We will talk later! Maybe we can have dinner this week! Have a good night!" Robin shouted.

That woman was going to be the reason that I had an aneurysm, or I would blow up the house, whichever came first.

When we were inside Clark's typically happy, almost goon-like expression had changed drastically. "We have to leave, we can go to Metropolis and figure out a plan of attack, but we cannot stay here."

"Why?"

"Robin is related to Lois, I have seen her face before, and she thinks I look like Lois' boyfriend because I technically still am him,"

"So you do read minds?"

"That is not the point,"

"Okay, well, that does pose a bit of a problem,"

"It doesn't matter if we are seen in Metropolis. This is not a bit of a problem, this is a huge problem. We need to leave."

"If we leave now it will look really suspicious,"

"It will be more suspicious if we stay and Robin gets a better look at me, why didn't we just go to Kansas?"

I groaned. "Fine. Fine. We need to use my other vehicle, turn some lights on, make them think that we are still here."

"What if they knock on the door?"

"Whatever, I haven't gotten that far yet,"

Damian perked up. "We are really leaving? I thought it would never happen."

I glared at my child. "We have only been here for two hours,"

"I know! That is way too long. The neighbors are weird. I would rather be stuck in an elevator with my grandfather and a cat with rabies."

"That is a weird combination," Clark mumbled, as if for some reason that input mattered.

"Enough!" I shouted. "Let's head down to the basement. I have some things down there that will help us make a getaway."

I turned towards the basement door, typing the code into the keypad. We had a lot of work to do.

Damian decided to stay behind. And read.

***

Clark was a very curious individual. His curiosity almost matched a child's, but not my child because my son felt like he already knew everything.

He tended to hover. All I wanted was five seconds. Five! I couldn't even get that.

"It definitely isn't like the one that I tore the top off of,"

"That is kind of the point, we want to be hidden in plain sight,"

"Were you able to fix that, by the way?"

"That is irrelevant, isn't it?" I asked, not taking a second to look up from what I was doing.

Somehow, I had to make this car look road legal. That meant removing almost all of the larger pieces of equipment that had been fitted to the outside to create a mostly normal looking vehicle.

"It was just a question," He said, placing his hands on my shoulders, rubbing slightly. It was comforting and, very distracting.

I turned my head up to face him. I hated how beautiful he was. His eyes became more and more relaxing to me with every passing moment.

All I wanted to do was grab him and pull him into a warm embrace.

"Clark, you are..." I began, but was cut off by his mouth.

The kiss might have been just what I needed.

He released me. "You talk far too much,"

"But I..."

He pressed a finger against my lips. "Shh...there is no need for you to talk right now. You are the only reason that we are getting anywhere with this and I love that you are willing to help me, as well. You are saving me."

"There is not much that I will not do for you at this point,"

"Even if you made me fend for myself, you would still have my love,"

"Love is a pretty strong word to be throwing around,"

Those wonderfully long eyelashes fluttered. I had officially become a Superman Groupie. "Is it too strong? I was thinking that it was just right."

"Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"I might be, depends on what you think I am saying,"

"Well, I do not want to say it and be wrong,"

"Maybe we should say it at the same time and find out,"

I shook my head. "That is an insane idea, absolutely not,"

Out of the blue, he grabbed both of my hands in his, bringing them up to his luscious lips. He pressed soft, sweet kisses on top of both of them. This was the easiest way to make me melt.

"If you want, then we can chose to say nothing at all,"

"That might be for the best,"

He let go of my hands, but put his hands back on my shoulders. "We could do something else to express how we are feeling, last time I checked Damian was sleeping, upstairs. It is just you and me."

"There is really nowhere for that to go on down here," I pointed out. 

He looked around, presumably for a flat surface of some kind. He wasn't going to find one big enough. He didn't even need to bother. Really.  


	9. New Random

"Backseat of the car?"

Dammit.

He lifted me up into the arms. He was completely, one hundred percent serious. I was going to get screwed in the back of a makeshift 'batmobile'.

Can't say that i wasn't expecting this to happen eventually.

I was laid down on the seat. Clark crawled on top. Our lips collided in lust and passion that I didn't even know I was capable of.

Those same lips that had caught me traveled down my jawline and my neck. Sparks began flying off of my skin, fire in his wake. Each wonderful touch of his lips left tingles. I was going to go into shock if he didn't stop. The teasing was almost too much to bare.

"Clark! Clark! Babe! Stop!" I cried out.

He pressed our foreheads together. There was that smile again. I wanted to see that smile every single day.

"Do you really want me to stop?" He asked, a sort of deviant wickedness about him.

I shook my head. I couldn't resist. I wanted more. I wanted it to be better than it was the other night. "I don't want you to stop,"

He smirked. "Then let's continue,"

"Please," I gasped, fingers lacing through dark curls.

"I won't go easy on you. You have been warned." He said with a growl to his voice, the noise reverberating through him and into me. 

"I wouldn't want you to, I can take it,"

His hands latched onto the collar of my shirt. He slid his brilliantly nimble fingers down the buttons, tearing the shirt off without popping a single one.

Those same hands were ran all down my chest and down to my hips. His fingers drifted beneath my waistband until there was enough give, yanking them down to my ankles in one swift motion.

I kicked them off out the door.

I watched him carefully removed his own clothes before tossing them into a pile with mine.

His body was something to marvel at. Every inch carved to perfection. My hands moved to feel every muscle in his back. I hated that I found it so damn glorious.

I cupped his pert ass, grabbing just a little, and pulling the lower half of his body against mine. His eyes grew wide. I won.

"Is that so?" He mumbled into my ear before making a point of nibbling on just the right spot.

I tightened my grip. Our eyes so intensely connected.

He growled again. Why did I find that so damn sexy? 

He hooked my right leg with his arm and slid down.

His lips traced a line down my thigh. He stopped before he came into contact with my throbbing erection. His spare hand took to it instead. 

I moaned loudly, wondering what he was going to do next.

"Clark!" I shouted, my back arching as soon as his tongue delved deep inside. "...fuck...Clark..."

He stopped to look up at me, one eyebrow raised.

"You look like you are going to eat me," I giggled, nervously.

The other eyebrow shot up and he licked his lips. "Perhaps, that is my intention,"

"Then you better do it,"

He moved up, head right above the tip of my cock. He dipped down, flicking his tongue against the tip before taking it into his mouth. 

It was not that I had never received this sort of treatment before, but I certainly had never received treatment at this level before. He was incredible. His eyes were directly on mine while he took the entire length in his mouth, swirling his tongue around in just the right spots.

I tipped my head back and relaxed. Moans escaping from me as Clark continued to work.

I closed my eyes, drifting into my headspace. He bobbed his head up and down, changing the pace, using every tool in his arsenal to make me scream. 

He brought me close to the edge, adding his fingers to up the sensation. 

"Clark! I...I'm gonna...I'm gonna cum, Clark! Fuck!"

He stopped. He pulled himself up to my level. "Not yet you aren't," He caught me in a kiss, talented tongue dancing in the cavern of my mouth.

He thrusted his thick shaft inside. The heat from his body radiated through my abdomen. He pulled out, slamming back into me even harder, making me cry out.

He grabbed my waist and rolled me on top of him. He held onto me tightly, thrusting upwards to hit as deep as possible.

I knew how this worked. I pressed my hands down on his shoulders and began to rock my hips. Suddenly, his long, hard cock was hitting my prostate. That was it for me.

He picked up the pace, taking me by surprise. My breathing was irregular, heavy and it was a fight to keep my eyes from rolling back.

"Bounce, up and down, I promise it will be worth it," He whispered. And, I did. And, he was right.

He slammed into me even harder. My tipping point. 

"Harder! Fuck! Fuck me harder, Clark! Please!' I screamed.

I came tumbling down, collapsing completely on top of him. My body shook through the mind blowing orgasm, spilling out across our bellies.

He came soon after, entire load filling me up until he pulled out and it began to drip from me. The obscenity of him relaxing into a sated state, sending shivers down my spine, was somehow enough for me to spill out even more. 

He wrapped his arms around me, smiling with a stupid, sleepy expression on his face. "You are so beautiful like this," 

I allowed my head to rest on his chest. "I could hit you for talking to me like that,"

"Why? I'm telling the truth. You are...so incredible."

"I should probably move before we get stuck to each other,"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you are probably right,"

I went to move, experiencing a strange sharp pain in my lower back. "Ah!"

"What's wrong?"

"My back, hell, what did you do to me?"

"I told you, I gave you a fair warning,"

I shook my head, going to move again. I placed a kiss on his cheek before I crawled out of the vehicle.

***

It was kind of cute that Clark thought there was any way in hell that we were going to program this trip by visiting his hometown in Kansas. I wanted to go home. In order for that to happen, we needed to navigate in that direction.

Metropolis made tons more sense. I didn't care what he thought. I was making the decisions. It was my care that was getting us there.

Although, there might have been some good to come from Damian being in what I imagined was backwoods farmland. I really had no idea, Clark barely mentioned it. All I had actually gathered was that it was in Kansas and he grew up there.

"Do you want to call her before we get to the city?" I asked, bending to crack my back at the rest stop. He had done quite a number on the lowermost part of it.

Clark got out of his vehicle to stretch, his muscles doing all sorts of things to attract my attention. "I am probably not going to call her at two in the morning while at a rest stop,"

I shrugged. I hadn't exactly known what time it was. I was used to staying up late. It was part of my life, to be the night.

"Yeah, well, no, I am not going to call Lois at two am, that will only make her more angry,"

"I suppose you want her to be the least amount angry possible,"

"Yes, that is exactly right,"

I laughed. I loved being right. Even in a sarcastic sense.

I sat back down in the driver's seat and looked into the back. Damian was still sound asleep, sprawled out along the backseat. It was hard not to smile. He looked so innocent, which could not have been more wrong.

He was going to take some more getting used to, but I loved him. He was my child and despite all that I did not know about him, I couldn't help, but think of him as perfect.

Alfred would have been tickled pink to learn that I had taken to Damian and the idea of fatherhood. I honestly could not wait to tell him.

"Damian still sleeping?" Clark asked, startling me when I realized he was standing beside my open door.

"I don't blame him, it has been a rather eventful few days,"

Clark bent down onto his knees, resting his head on my thigh, stormy blue eyes looking right up at me.

"It certainly has, a lot has changed, for the better,"

"Whatever this is, whatever we are doing, I'm thankful for it. I was headed down a dark path, and I was determined to drag you with me. I didn't think humanity was a trait that you could actually posses. I am glad that I let down the walls that bordered my tortured soul..." I took a deep breath. "Warning you in advance for just how cheesy this is going to sound, ever since you have entered my life, you have been graffiting these pictures of a better future on those walls."

"Stand up," He said, sternly, rising quickly to his feet only a second before.

I did.

He kissed me. 

"Haven't I told you that you talk too much?"

I chuckled. He could not have been more right. "I think you might have mentioned it in passing,"

"Well, then you can stop. You never have to explain yourself or anything you do to me. I already love you."

I froze. I knew those words had been coming. He had been on the verge of saying them for at least a day. Yet, finally hearing them was a completely different story. The weight of the world rested behind those simplistic words.

My mouth went dry and I swallowed hard. The million and one things that usually ran through my head suddenly stopped. I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him against me. I knew how I felt. 

So, I kissed him this time.

"I love you," I said, hoping he meant the same thing.

"I fall a little deeper every day," He whispered, leaning in to kiss me again, a simple peck on my cheek. "I think it happened the moment I laid eyes on you, cheesy as that sounds, before everything else happened,"

"Because five minutes later you had a problem,"

"That is in the past. It was because I had discovered your secret, which at the time I did not support."

"Just shut up and kiss me," I chuckled, yanking him back into a passionate kiss.

Another vehicle pulled up in the parking spot beside us. I internally groaned, but knew that it meant I needed to break the kiss. 

The passenger window rolled down enough for me to see the occupant's eyes. Squinty and wild. Slimey bastard.

"What do you know? It is a couple of faggots."

Now I was the one squinting my eyes. I couldn't even see this man's face and my blood was boiling. 

I did have a knife in the car. I was no weakling, either. And, my lover was a super alien powered by the sun, from what I recalled that sun had been shining quite a bit as of late.

"That is a rather outdated word, don't you think?" I asked the idiot hiding his face behind tinted windows.

"No, I don't think it is outdated, old faggot,"

"So, you are ignorant then?" I shot back, keeping my hand resting on the small of Clark's back so that he didn't leap to kill them, not that he actually would have.

It didn't take a rocket scientist or a therapist to see how much the word was getting to him, again. I was going to have to spend some time acclimating to becoming the Superman whisperer.

"Who you think you callin' ignorant?" The very young man stepped out of the vehicle, approaching Clark and I. I couldn't believe how ridiculous he looked.

If pants that low paired with an oversized jersey and a flat bill hat was supposed to be attractive, then I did not understand fashion. The mass of chains only seemed to make it better. Apparently. 

"I believe he called you ignorant, something that we happen to agree on," Clark told him, power in his tone. I guess that he wanted to give me another reason to think that he was sexy.

"And, who the hell do you think you are, pretty boy?"

"The person standing between you and the mistake that you are about to make. Stand down."

I checked to see if he had red eyes. Based on his body language I swore that he was going to be burning the heart out of this man in front of us. 

"Pretty bold words coming from a faggot,"

"Say it again,"

"Huh?"

"Say the word again, I am afraid that I didn't hear you,"

"Okay, Faggot!"

Clark pulled back his arm, winding up the punch. I could see just how much weight he was going to put behind it.

The fist connected with the man's face. He shouted in pain, tumbling backwards into the vehicle he arrived in. His nose was definitely bleeding. I was obviously okay with this. 

I had had enough of stupid altercations with dumb humans in the dark without any of my weapons.

"Let's go, Clark," I muttered, tugging on his arm.

"What?"

"Come on, babe, let's get going, before it gets worse,"

"Oh! Right. Right."

 


	10. Intriguing Connectivity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the record show, I usually love Lois, but she has to be kind of a brat this time.

Time was interesting. 

So was Metropolis.

I was familiar with both.

I was not familiar with how the two would mesh when I walked into the city arm in arm with Clark. It was incredible how much things had changed. I had never expected to have a different opinion about the man who came from the sky.

Holy hell, though, he was beautiful. And, my goodness, did I love him. He was the light.

The addition of my son to the mix made things that much better. 

There were so many things to take care of. And, I was so very distracted. 

Now, I remembered why I avoided love and normal relationships. 

Side note: my knee was killing me. Old injuries died hard. I probably needed a brace. 

"Are you limping, Bruce?" Clark asked. I didn't hide it well enough.

I sat down on the nearest bench and rolled up my pant leg. Sure enough, my right knee was swollen about one and a half times its normal size. I had injured it years ago, causing it to crack and shift uncomfortably from time to time. The fluid in my joint had thickened throughout all of this, currently part of the reason it looked as it did.

Apparently, I had also managed to bruise it on top of everything.

"That looks painful," Damian said, walking up to us with a smoothie. I must have been a horrible person because I hadn't even noticed that he had left.

"Believe me, it is," I grumbled.

"You are strong, you will get through it," He dug into his pocket, pulling out a wallet. "This is Clark's, I figured that he might want it back,"

Clark grabbed his wallet back. "What the heck? How didn't I feel that?"

"League of Assassins training, my dear," I explained, rising back to my feet, still very much in pain.

"I feel like I should carry you to the hotel, or at least to the end of the street,"

I smiled at him. "As much as I would probably benefit from that, there is no need to attract additional attention to ourselves."

"Then at least allow me to hold you up, take some of the weight off of your knee,"

"Please stop being a perfect human, you are an alien, that isn't allowed,"

He chuckled, choosing to ignore me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, using his strength to lift me up slightly. I hated to admit it, but it definitely did help.

Damian trailed behind us a few feet, just sipping away at his smoothie. The one he bought with Clark's money.

Clark kissed me on the cheek. I blushed because I was pathetic.

"Hey! Hey! Clark!?" A woman shouted at him from across the street.

Clark made the mistake of looking. I made the mistake of not stopping him.

It was none other than Lois Lane.

I could already feel the shift in her tone as she unabashedly ran through the traffic of the late afternoon to catch up with us. A relentless act that could have gotten her killed, tenacious as she was. 

Once she was standing in front of him, I could see the fire behind her gorgeous blue eyes. 

She smacked him hard across the face. A first act of war.

She glared at me, trying to get some sort of read on my face. Almost like a camera making a scan. 

"Where have you been!? Why haven't you called me!? And, why are you hanging around with him!?"

Clark sighed. "If you would like for me to explain, we could go sit down somewhere,"

"You better, because I want to know what is going on,"

"You are probably going to yell at me, so please, refrain from swearing in front of the child,"

Lois looked down at Damian. "Okay,"

Clark gestured for her to lead the way, still holding onto me.

***

The cafe was cool, and dark, and freakishly quiet. It only helped to amplify me feeling unwanted and out of place. 

It was clear that my presence was causing some sort of disruption in Lois' though process. I was the current cause of the short-circuiting of her brain, despite it being completely out of my control.

Quite frankly, I felt as though a good percentage of the blame for this could have been put on Clark. Yes, he did suggest small town Kansas over Metropolis as a destination, but he was too god damn noticeable. His ability to hide in plain sight, or really to hide at all, was practically nonexistent.  

Conclusion, still mostly Clark's fault.

"So, should I start, or are you going to?" Lois asked him, her hands in a steeple as she stared at him with the most intense expression. 

"I...uh...you?" He stammered. 

"Is your phone working?"

"Yes, but Bruce wiped the memory and made it impossible to track,"

"But don't you know my number by heart? Because I am pretty sure that you said you did."

"I do,"

"So, please explain to me which piece of the puzzle I am missing when it comes to why you didn't even bother to let me know that you were okay?" She asked, dropping her hands against the table. "I'm hoping you have quite the excuse lined up for me,"

"I don't, well, ah, I don't have a good excuse for not letting you know that I was okay after the explosion, but I do have a slightly well thought out excuse as to why I haven't made any effort to come home, or keepy any form of communication open."

"I'm waiting, Clark, and after you tell me, I want to know why you are traveling with Bruce Wayne."

"Both items are related, actually," I mumbled, but she definitely heard me.

"No chiz," Damian added, not even bothering to look up from the magazine he had magically acquired. 

I checked my pocket for my wallet just in case. 

"Chiz?" I repeated the word. It seemed really damn stupid at the moment. "What?"

"Don't worry about it,"

Clark cleared his throat. "I love you, Lois. You have been there for me whenever I needed you. I have tried my best to return the favor. As it turns out, I can't. You need someone else, someone who can devote the proper amount of time to you. You need a man that is capable of loving and worshiping you in the ways that I only wished I could."

Lois had tears in her eyes. It was incredibly inappropriate for the situation, but I couldn't help thinking that she looked like she needed a hug and that I was in the proximity to do so.

"Are you really ending our relationship?"

"Yes," He took a deep breath. "And, despite what you might want to say now, you know that I'm right,"

She covered her mouth to muffle her sobs.

There is nothing I hate more in life than women crying in front of me, more so when it is basically my fault. I never know quite how to respond.

"You are forgetting the part where you had dirty gay sex with my father in the hotel shower," Damian decided to throw a monkeywrench into the otherwise smooth sailing conversation. 

Lois' fire returned, and it was directed toward me. She looked like she might at any minute launch herself across the table and wrap her hands around my neck.

Being in this situation was never my intention. I probably wouldn't have been in it had my son not been in attendance. Still, there was not much that could be done at this point. I would, however, be discussing it with him later. I especially wanted to know why he thought it was okay to talk like that at eleven.

"Clark, are you sleeping with Bruce Wayne?" She inhaled, trying to calm herself down. Seemingly, anyways. "Is that the real reason that you want to end our relationship?"

"I am not just sleeping with Bruce Wayne. I love him. In part, yes, it does influence my decision. I can not go on being with you when I know I am not adequate since my devotion is to someone else. It is so difficult to be by your side when I can not give you my entire heart. That isn't fair to you." Clark explained, rather exquisitely. He was quite elegant, I was finding. A true wordsmith. 

She leaned in. "Clark, are you gay?"

He turned to me. I wasn't sure if he was looking to me for guidance or a way to steer the conversation in a different direction. I just shrugged. 

"I am not entirely sure. I have only been with you and with Bruce. I just know that I love you and that I was intrigued by him the moment I saw him. I was thinking about what I could do to him the moment I laid eyes on him. I knew right away that I would pursue him." I might have been wrong, but there was definitely a lie in there.

Lois' eyebrows were both raised. "Oh my gosh, I don't know what to say, I never would have known,"

Damian scoffed. I kicked him lightly in the shin to shut him up. There was no need for anymore of that. 

"That you are going to be okay with all of that, and that you understand," Clark said, the guise of innocence not sitting well with me.

"I am. I have to be because I love you. I always will. I want you to be happy." She said, smiling. 

This was going surprisingly well. Again. 


	11. New Brands

I excused myself from the table. Regardless of the fact that everything had seemed to have been diffused, I needed to be away from all of, well, I didn't even know exactly what to call it. 

I went into the bathroom to splash water on my face. Maybe that would help clear some of the cloudiness obscuring my thoughts.

Lois decided that she was going to join me. 

And, yes, this was the men's restroom.

"Mr. Wayne, can we cut the crap and get right to the point?" She asked.

I glanced up, obviously a bit startled by her standing at my side. "Uh...um...sure?"

"I am really not okay with the fact that you and Clark are a couple, I am only saying it to keep up appearances. He will be mine again. You are simply a detour. The two of us are not on good terms, do you understand?"

"Really? We couldn't just have a civil relationship?" I sighed. "He deserves far better than for you to be going behind his back like this."

"Maybe you should tell him, though who do you honestly think that he will believe? I'll have him back in no time if you do that."

"I have dealt with women like you before, and I can honestly tell you that I am not worried. You will not come between me and the man that I love. I promise you that."

"We will see,"

"You don't really know me, so consider that before you make any real threats,"

"I am not afraid of you, Bruce. You can have all of the power in the world behind you and I still won't back down."

"Well, you tell me if that is still how you feel after you make a pass at him, or attempt to put either of us into some sort of physical danger."

***

When the two of us rejoined the table, Lois' calm and very obviously over projected sweet personality had returned. She said her goodbyes, making an effort to hold her now ex-boyfriend in a long, tight embrace until it became awkward and I could only glare at her.

And, just like that, we were once again two adult men on the run who had chosen to walk straight into the fire with an eleven-year-old. I was feeling pretty damn good about it at the moment, a fact that would certainly change if we had more interactions such as this one.

"That was interesting, you are sure that there are not any other men or women you have slept with that are going to freak out, right?" I asked, hands over my face.

Clark nodded. "I was serious about only ever being with you and Lois,"

"Right, that unfortunately doesn't add up for me, sorry,"

"Hey, I wouldn't lie about that anymore than you would lie about the high number of women that you have taken to bed. We are both proud of our numbers."

I cocked my head to the side I didn't understand how someone could be telling the truth and have such talent doing what he does. It did not compute. "Hm?'

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"If you had ever had sex with yourself it would all make perfect sense,"

"But I..."

I quickly reached out to cover his mouth. "Sh...sh...sh...no, don't say anything,"

"Alright, that I can do," He replied with the most adorable and ill intentioned smile I had ever seen on his face. 

He kissed me. Right in the middle of the small cafe.

"Oh," I hummed.

"I love you," He whispered, less than an inch away from my lips. 

"I love you, too, Clark," I whispered back my response before kissing him once more. 

I had had some initial worry about Lois having some pull with him. I figured that she would get him back based on memories of the past, if only temporarily. Now, there was none. I knew that Clark was mine, and only mine. Superman was the key to my happy ending. 

"Gross. Please. Stop." Damian groaned. 

"You'll be fine," I shot back, holding back a laugh. 

"I think you should encourage it, actually. I mean, maybe not in front of you so much, but this interaction is normal and healthy. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll be your incredibly embarrassing stepdad who your friends think is weird? I really love your dad, and I want to love everything that comes with being in a relationship with him, for better or for worse."

I enjoyed everything about what he said, minus the lines taken straight out of the traditional set of wedding vows. 

What a goon I was involved with?

Damian made a gagging noise that represented exactly what I was feeling as far as those words went. Although, probably not to that drastic of an extent.

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's get to the hotel so that I can get into contact with Alfred and hopefully work on a plan to convince the government that we are not threats to the city and will not blow it up."

"What about Lex?"

I raised my hand up. "We will deal with that, too,"

***

My boyfriend, wow that sounds weird, was a distraction. Or rather, his strong hands were a distraction. Well, that would make his arms a distraction, as well. I stand by my original statement, my boyfriend was a distraction. 

It is very difficult to get any work done with him constantly touching me and finding new ways to be adorable. He carried me to the room bridal style for starters. 

All of this only made me want to touch him more. I wanted to get handsy in the same way.

Which I did.

"I have to set up a secure line that cannot be traced or tapped using both of our phones. The network should be strong enough for that. After a safe connection is established, I will call Alfred. I have the utmost confidence that this will work."

"Is Alfred the butler? My mother always talked about him." Damian asked, taking a sudden interest in what I was doing. There was hope for this child yet.

League of Assassins training plus being a Wayne equalled a better class of vigilante justice. Though, in all honesty, no matter what his destiny was, I much rather preferred that we be called anything besides vigilante. The word didn't quite match up for what I did.

"Yes, a damn good one at that," I put the final piece in place to make the phone call, which I decided at the last minute would be a video chat to prove it was actually me calling. "Now, please be quiet until I say so,"

He nodded, proving that he could also be an obedient, well behaved child for me, as well.

Alfred answered quickly. " _Master Wayne, as I live and breathe, it is good to know that you are not dead in a ditch somewhere, one of my fears since you apparently could not find the time to get yourself together and call me prior to this._ "

"I am very sorry, Alfred. It will not happen again. I had to make sure that everything was safe before I made this call. A lot has happened since I have left, that much I can assure you."

" _I'll say, you look positively happy for once. It is almost terrifying. That, and I can see the very top of what I can only imagine is a large lovebite on the side of your neck, peeking out right above your collar._ "

My hand instantly drifted to the spot he was referring to. I thought I had it covered up pretty well. It wasn't the first time he had caught me with a visible hickey, it had been quite a few years, though. "Yes, well, about that..."

" _Please do go on, did you finally meet yourself a decent woman in your forced travels,_ "

"Not exactly, but I am seeing someone," I paused, taking a deep breath and glancing over at a happy looking Clark, who Alfred was unable to see. "And, I love them very much, more than I thought I was capable of. It is an entirely new feeling. When I am in their presence, it is so hard to keep from smiling."

" _This mystery person is there with you now?_ "

"Indeed, Alfred. We are of a similar situation at the moment so it makes sense for us to stick with each other. There is one other person with us, however. An eleven-year-old whose mother could no longer take care of him."

" _Why don't you introduce your new lover to me?_ "

"I want it to be a surprise for when I see you," I chuckled, eyes drifting back to Clark once more. "But I will introduce you to the eleven-year-old."

" _Why would you do that?_ " 

I waved my son over to me, directing him to sit beside me and look at the screen. 

"Alfred, this is Damian. Damian, this is Alfred,"

" _Is this your way of telling me that you are going to need a new suit made? Grooming another?_ " 

"No, that is not what I am telling you at all," I sighed.

Damian just turned to me with an eyebrow raised. I did not want to open up that can of worms just yet. My track record wasn't very strong and I was not prepared to lose my son. 

" _I am afraid that I do not understand where you are going with this,_ " 

"Look at his face, then look at mine, do you see anything familiar?"

Alfred nodded, lips parted like he was about to speak, but the words never came. Shock was setting in. 

"Damian Wayne is my son, Talia Al Ghul is his mother," I explained very simply.

" _A son? I never thought I would hear those words. You have a son! This is grand news. Wonderful._ "

"All the more reason for me to come home, right? Now, I have got the beginnings of a plan to do just that, but I am going to need your help."

" _I am all ears,_ "

I explained my ideas to Alfred with ease, including how I planned to use my still unidentified to him mate in all of this. It was nice having him able to understand each step and the tech that would be involved.

The entire thing was just crazy enough that it might go off without a hitch.

" _Remember, Bruce, I want to met this new love interest of yours as soon as possible,_ "

"I know, I know, you will, I will call back when we are ready to execute the next step. Does that sound good? I would give you access to the secure line, but I don't know if it will be potentially compromised by then."

" _It sounds like a plan. Don't forget what I said._ "

"I won't,"

" _Good. Have a good night,_ "

"I will. You do the same, Alfred,"

I ended the call with a sigh of relief. Everything had gone smoothly. I laid back on the bed, finally allowing my entire body to relax. This was going to work. 

Clark looked over at Damian. "Hey, there is a really cool lounge for kids in this hotel, you should head down there. Lots of books you could read."

"Why would I want to do that? Why do you two always want to send me to talk to strangers?"

"So that you do not have to see what I am about to do to your dad. I don't want you to have to go through that."

"Ew. Why now?"

"Does it really matter?" I mumbled. 

Damian huffed. "Fine, I'll leave, but if something happens to me then it is all your fault."

The second he was out the door Clark yanked his shirt off and pulled me close to him. I was ready for the fun to begin. 

 

 


	12. All That It Is Ever Going To See

"I guess I don't have to worry about you leaving me," I muttered. 

"Why would you say something like that?" Clark asked.

"Because you and I are two very different people, and Lois seemed like she was your soulmate. You referred to her as your world." I told him, realizing I was walking on thin ice since I could piss him off at any moment. "I love you, Clark, and I hate the idea that this might just be temporary. I am far too old and far too used to the way things work for something that is only temporary."

He propped himself on his elbow, blue eyes peering directly into my soul. "Lois was not my soulmate. The only title she currently holds is being my first true love. I'm not even sure if I believe in soulmates in the traditional sense. I do know that I love you and I care for you, and all that I want to do is make sure that you are happy." He told me in the most reassuring voice possible. 

"Stop being so damn perfect, you know that I can't live up to those expectations,"

He wrapped his arms around me. "You are absolutely perfect the way that you are. I fell in love with you because of the person that you are. I don't want that person to change because of me."

I was indeed a few inches taller than him, but he was always able to make me feel small, almost like I needed the protection of his muscular arms. 

And, I was by no means lacking muscle of my own.

He maneuvered me on top of him, having me straddle his waist. We were still as naked as we were the night before, making the contact even more electrifying. It also allowed me to make the discovery that he was already sporting a rock hard erection. 

I smiled. There was a wicked sense of pride that came from feeling his thick cock pressed against my backside. I would hopefully still be open from the night prior, leaving us more time to actually play, despite the fact that I did enjoy what his fingers did to me.

I glanced back to see that Damian had returned while we were asleep. He was passed out with a book on his chest, sprawled out across the sofa on the other side of the room. I probably should be paying more attention to him.

"We should...um..." I began.

"Head into the shower? That's a great idea." Clark said in almost a purr.

"Mmm...I am full of good ideas,"

"You can't say things like that and expect me to keep the comments to myself," He chuckled.

"SH...let's just head to the shower,"

"You don't have to tell me twice,"

***

Clark drew a bath in the large bathtub contained in the bathroom.

He held out his hand for me, wanting to assist me into the tub like a true gentleman. I quickly took his hand and joined him.

As soon as I was sitting, he took a hold of my chin and pulled me into a tender kiss.

"What a wonderful way to spend the morning?" I half mumbled when the kiss broke, afraid that I was going to slip into a madness where he did not exist.  

"I'll say, and I wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else,"

"Oh yes, you will always be fond of me. I represent to you all of the sins you have never had the courage to commit." I spit out the quote in humor, despite being under the assumption that he would be unfamiliar with the author who said it. 

"The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history." He replied, lips so close to my ear that I could feel his breath as he whispered the words. 

My own lips parted, in utter shock that he knew the origins of what I said enough to be able to respond with words from the same man.

"What's wrong, Bruce?" He asked.

"Nothing at all, I am just amazed by you, more and more every single day," I said before catching him by the mouth. 

He shifted so that he was completely on top of me. He pushed my legs apart, hooking an arm under one of them. His cock was already pressed against me and I waited for his next move.

He thrusted into me without warning. Hard. It took me by surprise and I gasped, moaning after from the full feeling.

He smiled that million dollar smile. The devil was in his gaze. "I want to hear you scream my name,"

"Try it, make me," I growled.

He thrusted into me again, harder still. Every fiber of my being was on fire. The fullness was quickly driving me over the edge.

He reached his hand down in between us, grabbing my cock and stroking it vigorously, matching the rhythm of his thrusts.

I found myself a complete mess of moans as my back arched into his every movement. My hands latched onto his hair, smashing our mouths together in a rough, hungry kiss.

He pulled out suddenly, taking me by the hair and flipping me onto my stomach as water splashed out on the floor. His thick shaft was inside me once more, pounding away at an angle that was just right. Every nerve ending he could reach, he did. 

My heart rate quickened. I tipped my head back and allowed him to take hold of my neck. I could see white, and I could feel sparks.

My insides were on fire as I tried to keep my grip on the side of the tub. He yanked me back against him, catching me in a kiss while he continued to pound into me.

"Clark!" I cried out as one of his hands found my throbbing erection again, relieving the torturous neglect. "Oh fuck!" 

In only a few seconds I was unable to hold back. My entire body was tingling, clenching and pulling wherever my muscles would allow it.

Clark's cock was pumped into me erratically, filling me up as he screamed through an orgasm that left his body almost useless.

"oh my god!" I shouted, "Fuck!", finally reaching my own completion at the hands of all the beautiful insanity that was spinning around me. 

He left his softening cock inside of me, pulling me as close to him as possible. My chest heaved. I was still unable to breathe normally and my heart was pounding at an extreme rate I didn't think was possible anymore.

I felt him place soft kisses on my shoulder blades and my uppermost spine, creating a trail to the back of my neck. I couldn't keep my eyelids from fluttering, wanting them to stay open as much as the rest of my body wanted them shut.

The kisses traveled around the side, and all along my ear. Somehow the sensation leaving me more breathless than anything prior. 

He took a deep breath, his exhale igniting my senses, letting me feel just how close his perfect, full lips were to my skin.

"i love you," He whispered.

"I love you, too," I told him at full volume.

I turned my head to look at him. There was that damned beautiful smile of his.

Of all of the things I knew for certain it was that he was too good for me. It pained me a little to know that this wouldn't have happened if our secret hadn't gotten out to the higher powers.

So, in a weird way, I was thankful that we were discovered and that our fight didn't end up happening. It was better this way.

"We should probably wake the kid up and go get something to eat," Clark muttered, sleepily in my ear.

"While we are at it, we need to get me some fucking pain meds. Ha, dammit, Clark, you are going to break my hips."

He just laughed. He would. 

***

For the first time since I left Gotham I found myself alone. It was sort of relaxing. My mind and body were at ease. Everything was simple all of a sudden. How wonderful it was.

It definitely gave me time to reflect on all of the different aspects of my life. 

It didn't stop me from worrying about my son and my boyfriend, however.

My son and my boyfriend. Those were two things that I never thought I would have, but I never wanted them to go away. I loved them. I would always want them in my life. 

I officially had a real family. One that was completely amazing. Alfred was probably reasonably proud of me right now. This was a major accomplishment.

I guess it was about time that I settled down. And, I wasn't even a little bit nervous. I felt okay, despite how early it was in our relationship.

Perhaps, I would beat him to the punch. I could buy a ring and get down on one knee and promise to love him for the rest of my life.

In fact, I was going to do just that. 

Only once before did I think I would get married. 

I was going to marry Kal-El, son of Krypton. Clark Kent, beautiful demigod and my future husband. 

if he said yes.

Just then, the door opened. Damian and Clark came inside, arms full of bags and smiles on their faces. 

It was a wonderful sight, which lead me to wonder when I became so soft.

Or maybe, the gaping black hole in my chest, where my heart was supposed to be, had some feeling in it yet.

"Where did you get all of that stuff?' I asked. 

Clark said down the bags he carried in and sat next to me. "Lois lent me some money, plus I had a little left over. Tonight is going to be special. I am going to remind you just how incredible you are."

"And, Damian behaved?" I asked next, turning my attention toward my mischievous child. 

"Actually," Clark took a deep breath. "He really did,"

"I am impressed," I said with a smile.

"As am I. He also volunteered to help me make dinner, which is what is in most of these bags."

"You're cooking? Is there anything that you can't do?"

"I can't sing," He said, holding in a laugh.

"That's okay, I actually can, and since I can't cook I figure that we are even." 

"You will have to sing for me someday,"

"If you're lucky,"

Damian cleared his throat. "Hello!? Can we start dinner before I turn twelve?"

"When might that be, exactly?" Clark asked, dripping in sarcasm.

Damian rolled his eyes.

Clark and I both started laughing. My beloved gave me a peck on the lips and then joined my son in the hotel room's mini kitchenette area.

I needed to get a ring. 


	13. For Old Time's Sake

There was definitely many things that could have happened that would have ruined everything. I was a classic over thinker and now reality was settling in around me. 

People who let their walls down in the name of love often got burned, and i knew this better than anyone else.

In fact, the whole thing was giving me one hell of a migraine. 

Or, perhaps, I really just had a migraine. 

Either way, I could barely keep my eyes open and i was feeling more and more lightheaded with every passing moment. 

I glanced over at Clark and Damian making dinner together. The sight was too perfect to interrupt. The last two good things in the world and they were mine.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for just a moment. I needed to be okay. I needed to not feel like my head was going to explode.

I laid back on the bed, trying to relax. Unfortunately, counting the defects on the ceiling was doing nothing for me. If anything, it was making things worse. 

I gave in to the demands of my worn out body, rolling over onto my stomach and smothering my head into one of the pillows. I wanted no lights, no sound, and no thoughts. I was regretfully able to have the third thing.

My head continued to throb on top of everything. The intensity of how light headed I was had been followed by something more horrid, nausea and the feeling I was going to pass out. 

If these were the beginning symptoms of my death, I hoped that the rest of it happened quickly. It would be so in tune with the rest of my life if something terrible came to be because I was finally happy.

I slid down off of the bed, landing on my knees unstably. I reached my hand out, grabbing the edge of the end table and weakly attempting to pull myself up. 

My vision blurred. Any hopes that I would be able to make it further were dashed. I collapsed onto the floor and my breathing began to slow.

I tried to scream, to call out for help. Clark was not even that far away, but I couldn't make a loud enough sound. 

The seconds felt like minutes. Whatever this was could easily be the end. 

"Bruce!" I faintly heard Clark shout my name. "Bruce! What's wrong!? Can you speak!? Bruce, Can you hear me?!" 

Then everything turned to black. Everything stopped.

***

_"Bruce! Bruce, please wake up! Bruce, I need you..."_

_"You can't leave me like this. You can't leave your son like this. Bruce!"_

_"Don't tell me I am not allowed to see him! You will let me see him!"_

***

When my eyes finally reopened it was because of beeps and it was to the sight of pristine whiteness. The characteristically stereotypical hospital room smelled like cleaning products and latex, the combination causing my stomach to churn almost instantly.

I fumbled around, certain I was going to empty the contents of my stomach, if there was any, reaching for a bowl.

My body heaved, but clearly there was not anything left.

I looked around. The fluorescent lights could have blinded me with their annoyance.

Across the room Clark was sitting, slumped over in a chair, sleeping soundly. It was a sight that I needed to see. It restored some of my sanity.

"Look at you," I whispered. "A bit too good for this world,"

I sighed. It had been a long time since I had been this physically weak. Every muscle in my body ached and every bone was sore. I wasn't even sure that I would be able to move if I tried.

I leaned forward and grabbed the chart from the end of the bed. It was blank, containing no useful information, not even my name.

My thoughts drifted. I had to be able to spend at least a few moments not thinking about what might have been the cause of all of this.

I wanted to see my son. He was nowhere to be found. Clark was still asleep and it only made sense for me to leave him be.

I moved myself slowly off of the hospital bed. I could have sworn that every last joint cracked on my way into an upright position. I took baby steps across the cold floor, not wanting to alert Clark to my movements or end up causing myself unnecessary pain.

I left the room, completely unsure of where I was headed. I did not even know which hospital I was currently in.

"They say that fate has a funny way of bringing two people together, but I don't know if I believe in fate, what about you, Brucey?" 

I froze. That voice put me on edge. I hated it. Every aspect of it could have held me where I stood permanently. 

For everything that he had done, there would never be any forgiveness. He should have still been locked up in Arkham. 

"Or should I say, Batsy?" He whispered, close enough for me to feel his breath on my neck.

I turned my head so that I was able to see him. He was smiling, just as sinister as ever. This was the devil incarnate. 

"What are you doing here/" I asked, my voice rough from not being used.

"Turn around, I want to get a good look at you," He mumbled.

I turned slightly to the side. I was able to see all of him. He donned a hospital gown, the same as mine.

"You're a patient? A real one?"

"I am," He tapped his bandaged leg with one of his tattooed hands. "The old lady did a real slice and dice number on me, left me for dead, again. Some nice nurse found me and brought me in, a true doll she was."

"What a shame? The world was almost a better place." I grumbled.

He laughed. Oh, how I hated that laugh more than anything else on earth.

"C'mon, Brucey, don't be like that. The past is in the past. Who cares if I caused a death in the family, I didn't kill you, you are still here. Why don't we move on? Start anew?" 

I clenched my fist. "You better hope that you disappear before I leave this hospital,"

"Eh," He shrugged. "Even if I do leave before you, you'll probably still find me anyways,"

Not wrong.

"I'm walking away now. The only reason that this is not escalating is because we are in a hospital. You, don't even think about following me..." I replied sternly.

He grabbed me by the arm. "How about I swing by for a visit? We need to get back on track with our relationship, things just haven't been the same since the super-alien fellow came down to destroy some of your buildings."

"Let go of my arm, or I am going to hit you, more than once,"

Just like that, I had another hand on my other arm. This one belonging to Clark.

"Who is this?" Clark asked curiously, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the green haired, pasty son of a bitch standing beside me.

"Jack White, old friend of Bruce's, pleased ta meet ya, very pleased ta meet ya," He said, elbowing me in the ribs. "Now, I understand why you have really been missing."

My eyes grew wide and I just sort of looked over at Clark who seemed more than a little perplexed by the Clown Prince of Crime's appearance. To this day, I was, but my facial expression never looked quite like this.

"The name is Clark, pleased to meet you, as well,"

"He's the boyfriend, no?" The Joker asked with a grin that sickened me to my very core plastered on his stupid face. "He's also the super-alien fellow, no? Nice work, Brucey, I always knew that you had it in ya. Ever since the first bird themed boy joined your pursuit of justice. He is a pretty one, a total keeper. Make sure that you get your grapple hook deep into this one, don't let him get away." 

I wasn't going to go for literal, but never have I ever felt more of an urge to physically facepalm my own forehead. 

Clark wrapped an arm tightly around my shoulders. "Um, we need to get back to your room, the doctor's need to explain to you all of the details of your condition."

"Very well, I'll be seeing you very soon though, promise!" 

Once we were out of the Joker's earshot Clark turned to me. "Who is that guy really?"

"Who he is is not important. Giving him that much worth is a crime against humanity. It is taking a lot out of me to not fight him. I assure you he is to be none of your concern." I explained.

"How are you feeling, by the way, I almost forgot to ask since I was so shocked that you were not in the room."

"I think that I am okay, though I feel like I have been hit by a semi truck, surprised that I don't have bruises to match,"

"Yeah, you really shouldn't be up walking around, at least not until the doctor talks to you,"

"That was a little grim, am I dying?" I asked overdramatically. 

"No, but you have been out for over two days and she does have some information for you so that it doesn't happen again,"

I stopped. "Oh, so much for the dinner that you planned,"

"I hope that you know your health is more important to me than a dinner," 

"I know,"

He pulled me flush against him, arms wrapped tightly around my waist. He didn't care who say us or who might have known who we were. He kissed me, right in the middle of the hallway. I loved it.

"I love you, and I have been worried sick about you, and I am so glad that you are awake,"

"I love you, too, but we should get back to the room. Say, why couldn't you just tell me what was wrong with me since you seem to know more than I do?"

"First off, I barely know more than you do, they won't give me details because we are not married or related. Second, this woman seemed to already know who you are. She had your medical records and everything." He told me.

"Mr. Wayne, let's get you back in bed, we really need to talk," The voice of a woman I had known for so long burrowed into my ears. Must have been a day for reunions. It was going to be hard to convince me that I was not dying now. 


	14. I Am Whatever I Want To Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Insert random pop culture references...can you spot them?

"How have you been Dr. Thompkins? I haven't seen you since you left Gotham. I figured that you were still down south." 

"I'm doing better than you," She replied, still as sassy as she was when she was younger. "Want to hear the damage?" 

"Obviously,"

"Okay, well, where do I start? You were dehydrated, so, please drink more water. On top of that, you are just going to need to be more careful. The high levels of damage that has been done to your muscle tissue over the years is starting to take its toll. Continuing to participate in the physically demanding activity that you are currently doing will only make things worse. Your body is unable to heal at a proper rate, which is only accelerated by the fact that your healthy cells are being attacked just as much at the unhealthy cells."

"Isn't that just a fancy way of telling me that I am dying?" 

"I assure you, it is not. What I am telling you is that after many, many tests, I was able to determine that you have an autoimmune disorder. There is a chance that it was dormant for some time, but odds are that you have had this your entire life."

"Wouldn't I have been diagnosed before?"

"Not necessarily, not unless a medical professional was actually testing for it,"

"I see, do I need to worry about it?"

"Only time will tell. Clearly, even though your body is attacking your healthy cells, you are still in relatively good health. There is not a lot known about most autoimmune disorders, especially ones that are rare and non determinate, such as yours." Dr. Thompkins explained kindly. "The way I look at it, if you take good care of yourself this should be a very manageable condition. You will be able to live a long and happy life with that great guy of yours."

The news that she told me was seemingly mostly positive. At least, that was how I was going to look at it. I had no choice. There was so much at stake. If this had been a few months ago, even one month ago, things would have been different. 

I had people who cared about me other than Alfred. And, I cared about them, immensely. 

This person I had become, I was strangely proud of.

"Alrighty, Dr. Thompkins," Clark began, grabbing my hand and kissing the top of it. "When can I take this perfect, incredibly beautiful human being home? I promise to take good care of him. He is very, very important to me."

My heart fluttered. I don't know how he did it, but he had managed to open my eyes up to the beauty of love again. How gosh darn terrible of him to do such a thing?

"Anytime,"

"Great, because I have plans for him, big plans,"

"Where is Damian?" I asked, remembering why I had left my room originally. 

"He's with Lois, I knew he wouldn't want to spend all that time here, so she agreed to watch him. She is really worried about you."

I was irritated when he said that Lois was worried, but absolutely furious when the reality sank in that my son was currently staying in her apartment. It upset me. 

"We need to get him. Now."

***

We arrived at Lois' apartment building. Clark tried his hardest to convince me to go inside, but I stood my ground, I refused. I had had enough of Miss Lane and it had been a few days since I had seen her. Honestly, if I never did again, that would still be too soon.

After he left me alone, I wondered just how long he intended to stay up there with her. It made me nervous. No matter what he said, my envy of her remained. It made my blood boil.

Clark returned to the car with my son. They were both smiling. I didn't know why that bothered me so damn much, but I had just enough reason to believe that the horrid, awful woman was the cause. 

"Look who has joined the land of the living!" Damian shouted playfully. "I was worried, you made Clark cry like a little baby."

Of course, that lead to me giving Clark a rather interested look. I hadn't known anything about that. It felt like I had just been given fuel to make fun of him, or at the very least be overdramatic anytime he donned his red cape. 

I guess the last part was more of an if.

"I thought you were going to die, don't look at me like that. I love you, I like you better when you are alive."

"Stop being so mushy, would you?" I said before jabbing him in the arm.

"I agree, Clark, you are a little on the mushy side right now," Damian chuckled.

"I can't help it. I don't know how I am going to make you understand this, but I will always be this way. The fact is that I am madly, ridiculously, and brilliantly in love with your father, fully intending to spend the rest of his life with him."

My eyebrows shot up. "Hm? The rest of MY life?"

"Bruce, don't take it the wrong way. I am simply stating that I am quite a bit younger than you are and Kryptonian aging happens to be significantly slower than a humans. Unless something absolutely unexpected happens, such as you stabbing me with a spear of Kryptonite as you once planned, I am more likely to live longer."

"That's a shame," I mumbled.

"What?"

"It is a shame that you started off so strong and sweet, but ended on a note that could easily result in me kicking your ass."

Clark turned his body completely forward, which made much more sense considering that he was driving. He furrowed his brow and forced himself to look out the windshield. For a few moments, anyways.

"You know, it is incredibly difficult to hold conversations with someone when that someone is offended by everything." He grumbled.

"I am not offended by everything, don't be ridiculous. And, would you please keep your eyes on the road? I am not indestructible, and neither is my son." 

"Now you are criticizing my driving? Is there anything that you can't make a comment on?! Is it possible for you to be even a little bit positive?!"

"I am plenty positive, Clark! I was plenty positive before you started off on your little rant!"

Clark was grinding his teeth which I waited for him to do major damage to the vehicle. His anger continued to build. I could not believe how horrible he was being, or how horrible I was being in response.

"Why do you treat everyone like shit all of the time, Bruce!?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. Now was not the time for this discussion. I was not doing this in a car while my son was in the backseat. I refused.

"Well?" He added in. "I'm waiting."

"Because I've had a really fucked up life and I need sarcasm to hide how ridiculously miserable I am! Is that what you wanted to hear?! Is that a suitable answer!?" Everything I had built up had been released in such simple words. As they came out of my mouth I almost felt a weight lift off of my shoulders, one that had been there so long that I had forgotten about it. 

I could count the times that I had actually cried on my fingers and still have plenty left over, however, today there would be one less.

The last thing I had wanted to do was cry this hard over something so miniscule. I had always had good control of my emotions, but this was a new type of pain. There was no way for me to stop, he had broken down my walls weeks ago.

"Can you please pull over? I want out of the car." I muttered through my tears.

"No,"

"Do you expect me to just roll out of the car while it is moving?" 

"No, you are staying in the vehicle,"

"Well, don't you sound sure of yourself?"

"You might think otherwise, but I am far from stupid, and it would be more than stupid for me to let you out of the car. Regardless of what just happened, I would be the most stupid person to ever stand on this earth if I allowed you to walk away." He said as he took my hand and kissed the top of it in that slightly obnoxious way that he did. "I love you way too much, and I am going to ensure that the next part of your life is the exact opposite of messed up."

I didn't know why, but those words only served to make me cry even harder. I had no idea that this man was capable of doing this to me.

***

"Clark," I began.

"Yes, Bruce?" He jumped on the chance to respond. As per usual. 

"I can think of at least five reasons why I hate you and consider you a menace to society."

"That's good," He replied with a smile so devious.

"Why do you say that?"

"Mostly because I can think of ten for you,"

"You are so lucky that I love you,"

"No, it is you that is lucky you love me," He shook his head. "Wait, that's not right, you know what I mean,"

"Would you both shut up, I'm trying to read," Damian said, frustrated by all of the noise Clark and I were making.

"Fine," We said in unison, sounding more like unruly children than Damian really ever did. 

We probably could have used a bit more focus anyways.


	15. Lying Here Where I Was Left

Home sweet home. Sort of. Not really all that sweet since we had to remain underground until I was able to come to some sort of agreement with the local government, at the very least. It was going to be quite the surprise for Alfred when he ventured down into the batcave, however.

"Do you promise to not try to hit me with any of your gadgets while we are down here?" Clark asked, running an unwelcomed set of hands along my still not fully repaired vehicle. 

I smacked his hands. "I promise that I will not hit you, if you promise to stop touching things. There is a chair by the suit, go over there."

"You are treating me like a child,"

"Indeed, I am, but if you stopped acting like one, I would not have to," 

He glared at me, possibly at a loss for words. Then, without making another noise, he slumped over and walked over to the chair I had moved across the room for him. But, of course, he had his arms crossed and put his glasses on top of his head to better stare at me. His petulance was almost cute.

Doors from upstairs opened. If I could hear them, I knew that Clark could. The elevator became active. Alfred, hopefully. Otherwise we might be in trouble.

On top of that, Damian had managed to escape my sight once more while I was so focused on Clark. I needed to work on that. 

"Alfred?" I called out, not seeing where he might have gone.

"Bruce?" He said in response, flicking on more of the lights in order to see my face. "Bruce! How on earth did you get down here? They have the house surrounded."

"Creativity and Superman's super speed,"

"What? I am afraid that I do not understand."

I gestured for Clark to join me at my side. "I believe you two need to meet, actually, because you are both rather important to me."

I wrapped my arm around Clark's waist, holding him as close to me as possible. His warmth was relaxing and I instantly wanted to melt into him at that moment, bask in his beauty. 

It was amusing how highly I thought of someone I had tried so desperately hard to hate.

Alfred looked at Clark, then back at me, and at Clark once more. It was obvious that he was a bit confused.

"What is this?' He asked.

Clark held his hand out in greeting. "Clark Kent, pleased to meet you,"

Alfred accepted it. "Alfred Pennyworth, and likewise,"

"Now, that that is out of the way, perhaps, we can work on the next steps. I would very much like to be allowed out in public in my city again." I explained.

"Wait, Bruce," Clark started.

"Is this the new special someone in your life? The one you spoke of before. This is the same man that you had fully intended on going to war with, of destroying, because you considered him a threat?"

I nodded. "He is, he is all of those things. The only truth is that I am very much in love with him. He is exactly what I needed in a partner."

Clark reached one of his hands up to caress my cheek. "I love him, he is my reason for continuing to live and fight,"

Alfred's eyes widened. "I am glad to hear that, though considering his track record, I am actually rather shocked. It does explain why he was never rushing to take a wife, always having all of these one night stands."

"You know that is not why," I grumbled.

"I am just glad that you are happy, you know that. It is all I have ever wanted."

Those words hit my ears and forced a smile on my face. I was happy, more than I had ever been. But, anyone who had taken a look at me lately could have determined just that.

"Mr. Pennyworth, I do have a very important question for you. Would you mind stepping out of earshot of Bruce so we can speak privately?" Clark asked.

"Yes, we can, but please, call me Alfred,"

The two did disappear out of my view. This happened just as Damian dropped down from another level.

"Where are they going? I haven't even got a chance to meet my new butler."

I laughed. "Not a clue what they are up to, but you will meet him soon enough,"

"Oh! I bet I know what they are talking about!" He shouted excitedly.

"Do you plan on telling me?"

"Clark is asking...no, no, I'm not going to spoil it for you, dad. Not when he has been planning it all out for so long."

My eyes enlarged and I took a few steps back. I had never heard him refer to me as 'dad', in fact, I was almost one hundred percent certain that he had never said it period. I couldn't believe it. It filled my undersized heart with joy. All of the pieces were beginning to fit.

"What's wrong? Are you going to pass out again?" Damian asked, hands on my arms as if to steady me if I was about to fail.

"No, I am just amazed, happy, and so many other great things. To hear you actually calling me 'dad'...it really makes me feel like we have made progress. I love you, son. I love you so much."

"Uh...I love you too, dad. I guess that you are getting pretty good at this, I think. Maybe Clark is. I don't really know. Mother always thought you would have a knack for this."

"Thanks kid,"

Alfred and Clark returned a few minutes later. They were smiling and talking quietly, glancing over in my direction occasionally.

"Ah, this is the wonderfully talented Master Damian," Alfred announced. "Very pleased to finally make your acquaintance, in person,"

"The very same, Alfred," Damian said, tone sounding amazingly proper.

"Out of curiosity, what were you and my butler talking about?"

Clark smirked. "You will find out eventually,"

***

Madness. True and True. It was nothing, but an uphill battle with the police, the congress, and the rest of the government that I had to deal with. All they did was make things more difficult. Not even the commissioner would agree to meet with me.

This was getting ridiculous.

So very ridiculous.

Hell.

This was literal hell.

At least there was wine. Including the special bottle that I grabbed out of the house in Michigan. I was saving it for a rare occasion.

Tonight was the night.

I didn't have a ring, but I knew I needed to get a move on it. The way that things were going, I really wanted him to know the extent of how much he meant to me. He was the sun, and the moon and the stars, so to speak, all that sort of dribble.

Back on topic. Tonight was the night. I worked hard on everything for a good portion of the day. Thank goodness Alfred was able to venture out of the house to fetch what I needed to make the night perfect.

Candles. Custom, hand painted roses. Takeout from a damn good chinese place. The last of my reserve money was just about spent.

The bottle of wine was set out. Perfect stemware waiting. Carafe prepared. 

There was no way that any of this could go wrong. 

Damian kept silent for most of the day. He helped me set everything up, but he always seemed mildly distracted. There was definitely something more going on in his head.

Perhaps, he was not in support of me sending Clark to sit in front of the computer performing meaningless tasks. 

The clock was ticking, however, we had many things to do.

***

"Clark, have I ever told you just how much I truly love you?" I whispered softly in his ear, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head on his shoulder. 

"You might have mentioned it in passing, I believe," He replied, looking up at me. 

"I have got something for you, but you will have to follow me upstairs to see it," I told him, still in a whisper.

His eyebrows rose. "Yeah? I thought you did not want anyone going up those stars, but Alfred,"

"They already know that you and I are here, so who cares?"

"You have a point, my beautiful one, lead the way,"

***

I convinced Clark that he needed to have his eyes blindfolded in order to go upstairs. Once we were in the room I desired I removed it.

He looked taken aback by the decor, the smell of the food, everything, all at once. That was how I had wanted him to react.

I lead him to the chair that I wanted him to sit in, allowing him the chance to get situated. 

I was on edge. My heart was pounding out of my chest. It was all in a good way, however, wonderful even. It wasn't nervousness that I suffered from, but it was not a complete lack of it, either.

I got down on one knee in front of the chair.

Taking his left hand, I cleared my throat and began to speak. "Clark Joseph Kent, I love you more than life itself. I was headed down a dark path before you entered my life..."

He pushed the chair back and sank down to the floor in front of me. "Stop, please,"

"Why?"

He grabbed a small black box from his pocket. "Because I have a ring,"

I swallowed hard. "A ring?"

"Yes," He opened the box, exposing an exquisite ring that appeared to have black diamonds in the band. "A ring,"

"Oh," I spit out. There was really no other way for me to respond. I couldn't even move forward with my thoughts.

"So, um, Bruce," He paused, taking the ring out of the box and grabbing my left hand. "I have been trying to find the right moment for so long, thankfully now seems pretty close to perfect. Will you do me the honor of becoming my husband and making me the happiest of men?" 

"Yes," I nodded. "I would love to,"

He slid the ring on my finger. "Look at that, it fits,"

"So it does," I said, my smile uncontrollable. 

He wiped a tear before it fell down my cheek. "I am officially the luckiest man alive,"

"Is this what you were talking with Alfred about?"

He blushed. "It was. Had it all planned out, and then you did all of this." 

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't be, it was better this way," He said, pulling me into a tight embrace. 

"I love you, Clark," I whispered.

"He tightened his grip on me. "I love you, too, Bruce,"

Somehow, I had a feeling that it was what he had talked about with Alfred.


	16. Far Times From Maddening Centers

"Hey! Hey! Hey! I think this will fit me! Can I try it on? Please? Please? Can I?" Damian asked excitedly.

"No, no, absolutely not," I said, looking up from the grapple hook that I was trying to fix, if only for a moment. Honestly, I couldn't remember how I broke it in the first place, but that was not important.

"Why not? I want to scale the rooftops of Gotham, saving the city from the ultimate evil."

"Of all the horribly stupid things your mother has done, teaching you about my 'side activities' was the worst," I grumbled.

"I'd hardly consider it a side activity. If anything, being Bruce Wayne is your side activity, and even sometimes you forget how to do that." Alfred interrupted.

I spun around in my chair to face him. "We will have none of that talk, especially when I am trying to ensure that my son does not end up being a casualty of this life,"

"I don't care what you say, I am still putting it on," 

I scrunched up my nose as Damian took off with the gear. "I want there to be someone else to blame for this, but I can't help thinking that this is somehow all my fault,"

"He may be your son, but he is also the son of Talia Al Ghul and the grandson of Ra's. He was bred for this sort of thing, raised for something even more sinister. Now, you have the chance to shape how he uses those skills."

"We are both still aware of how the last one I trained wound up, right?"

"This one will be different because this one is your son,"

"I am not sure if that actually makes any sense, Alfred. If anything, him being my son will make it worse, he won't be safe."

"Take some time, it will,"

"Now you are actually talking crazy," I huffed. "I need to get back to work,"

"Very well then, where is the future Mr. Wayne at right now? At least, I know he will listen to me."

"Future Mr. Wayne? We haven't even discussed that. I have been engaged for less than twenty-four hours. That just sounds strange. Besides, I could always make the decision to become the future Mr. Kent." I shook my head. "No, that's worse, I think I will hyphen, Bruce Wayne-Kent."

"Well, look at that, you are making decisions already,"

"He could also hyphenate, but well, that does not interest me nearly as much,"

Alfred just shook his head at me. I guess that made an acceptable response seeing as the words coming out of my mouth were at a pretty ridiculous level. There were only so many ways that he could have replied to me anyways.

"Why do I get the feeling that the two of you were just talking about me?" Clark said with a slight chuckle before taking the grapple hook that I was never going to be able to fix out of my hands, yanking me out of the chair and right into his arms. 

"Because you can hear everything, you're Superman," I told him. It was a deadpan sort of remark that I had been desperately trying to avoid, but I could not, it was my nature.

"That reminds me, I have a plan to get us out of our gridlock with the police," He began. "Crime wave cleanup,"

I cocked my head to the side. "Which crime wave are you referring to? This is Gotham."

"Eh," He shrugged. "Pick one, pick a target. You and I both know that this needs to be something that the police are having trouble with. Those are the only specifications. The two of us put on our suits and take care of whatever it is. Then they will appreciate what we do and allow us to get our old lives back."

"You clearly do not understand how this works, the police came after me for years. They were hellbent on ending my run as the local vigilante."

"Not recently,"

"Right, but you are forgetting that there was a dirty, rotten psychopath named Lex Luthor who made it seem as if we were the real problem in this world. He had me convinced that you were going to destroy everything, especially after..."

Clark cut me off. "That is the past, we need to spend more time focusing on the future,"

"And, by that you mean your crime wave cleanup?"

"Yes,"

"Okay, we can try it,"

"Really?" His eyes widened in disbelief from my acceptance. 

"Clearly, my way of doing things has not been at all functional in solving the problem, we have made minimal progress, if you consider there to be any at all. So, we will try things your way."

"By the way, I do not expect you to take my last name," He added in after the silence took over. 

"That's fine, I'm going to hyphen my name, anyways,"

***

During our first outing as a crime fighting duo I simply felt silly. Clark wanted to carry me in flight, while I was almost certain it made more sense for me to transport myself to wherever we need to be. 

He was not going to have it, however.

I was seriously waiting for him to try to convince me that I was a delicate flower. That was not the case, he managed to skip over that. Instead, he didn't allow me to say anything, he just scooped me up into his arms and took me to where he wanted us to go. Right in the middle of the could be action.

My image of being a strong symbol of justice was being dashed heavily, all because I allowed the amazing man that I loved to carry me. 

Oh, well.

The sacrifices I made for love.

He sat me down on the ground. I brushed off the front of the suit and quickly ducked behind the nearest vehicle, something he had determined that he did not have to do. Maybe he was right, but I was not taking that chance. I wanted to come out of this whole mess still swinging, and with all of my body parts left in tact. 

"For the love of god will you get your ass over here?" I sort of shouted at him, which sounded incredibly strange due to the nature of my voice changer. I made a pretty clear gesture along with it, hoping that he would get the hint and join me in the slightly safer spot that I had found. I knew better than to stand out in the open, even if it was dark.

He stared at me, but made absolutely no attempts to move. Not even a portion of an inch. Here were were, in Gotham, the crime capital of America, er one of them, and he was still just standing in the middle of the damn street as if that were perfectly normal behavior. All this while dressed in that red and blue suit of his, no less. I might have had a target on my back, but he had a big 's' on his chest, and his color scheme, being as it was, a hell of a lot more noticeable.

Besides all of that, there was the slightly large matter of law enforcement. They were not on good terms with us, and there was no telling how they would react. We still had work to do, and we were still technically banned from the city. 

"I can't,"

"Why not?" 

"I am trying to draw them out, this is an attention grabber..."

I sighed. "That's not going to work, they hate me, they probably don't give a damn about you,"

"First of all, we are a package deal. Secondly, I am just as intimidating to criminals as you, I just happen to smile about one thousand times more."

I rolled my eyes. Which I had decided was okay because I was at a far enough distance that he wouldn't be able to see me do it, unless he was looking directly at me. 

"Oh, how I have become positively disturbed at your ability to spit out snide comments," I mumbled, but I knew that he could hear me say it.

"I had a great teacher, and I paid more attention because my teacher was drop dead gorgeous. It made absorbing the information that much easier."

I had no choice. I really didn't. I had to give him another eye roll. He was the exact definition of a cheese ball, which I admittedly enjoyed more than I thought I ever would. 

I was standing in the middle of a dark street with my insanely beautiful, sort of crazy, cheesy fiance. That was something I never thought I would say. 

"They're back," A voice muttered.

"Who's back? Who's back?" A second one asked.

"How don't you know? It has been weeks since anyone in Gotham or Metropolis has seen either of them. The Bat and the Man of Steel." The first one explained. "Don't you watch the news?"

"Where are they?"

"Right down the street. I swear that's them. I swear. Maybe we should get out of here before things go south."

"I think that we should take them on, the boss would be real proud,"

I shook my head. These low level street thugs were actually considering taking Clark and i on, which was going to be unsuccessful no matter how they approached it. This was rather ridiculous in my mind. Although, it was going to be a bit entertaining to finally watch them try. 

Apparently, they were going to take their sweet time, since neither appeared to be attempting to move forward. 

I looked back over at Clark, who was staring at me with those damn blue eyes. I didn't need him to be a distraction right now, but he was almost to that point. We hadn't even gotten to where we determined the Penguin would probably be. 

Hell, he was probably the boss of the two morons.

I broke eye contact with him for a moment, trying to focus on the task at hand. I needed to remind myself that even though he was incredibly good looking and mine, I did eventually want to live without the fear of being arrested in or out of the suit. 

When I glanced up he was only a few inches away from me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into an intense, breathtaking kiss. Right there in the damn street like it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Maybe it was, but not if it was while trying to keep a relatively low profile. 

Even though I definitely should have been, I was not the least bit angry. I was in love, and therefore completely capable of forgiveness. This was despite all of the red flags. I had officially reached a blind level with him. 

I finally managed to push him away. "You...you cannot. You cannot do that while we are in our suits, while we are outside like this. You absolutely cannot." I said to him with a stern tone.

He smiled. "Then we simply cannot work together because it is a crime to force me to keep my hands to myself in the presence of someone as beautiful as yourself. I am having a terribly hard time right now."

At the conclusion of his words I noticed that he had a very wicked look in his eyes. In reality, that should have drove me to hit him, as per usual, and perhaps in the past it would have, but now, it just sort of made me want to get him to the nearest flat surface.

He grabbed a hold of one of my hands, about to say something. In that exact moment spotlights from a Gotham City Police Department helicopter were shining down on us. 

This was going to be very, very interesting.


	17. All of My Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry it has been such a long time since I have updated this story, but I'm back...and I come baring the gift of the weirdest encounter with police ever and a super poorly written other scene....

"You have decided to turn yourself in then? Is that what we are meant to believe? After all of this time? Did the two of you even leave the city?" The Commissioner asked me, eyebrows raised. After all of the nights the two of us had spent cleaning up the city, both above and below the law, our working relationship had been strained, reduced to nothing more than ash. It was obviously one of the more annoying post-Luthor aspects of my life. 

"We got out before you were even able to send out a search party, before you were able to freeze our assets." Clark replied, even though it was safe to say that Gordon's words were not intended for him.

"Don't speak unless you are spoken to. I am already going to be on think ice for not booking the two of you right this instant. The Federal Government wants the two of you in custody."

I raised my hand to indicate that I was going to say something, though I wasn't one hundred percent sure why I did. Perhaps, it was because after all of this time, I still felt like a small child at a crime scene being asked questions that could barely be answered when around him.

"We were attempting to take down the Penguin, someone who has quickly risen to power again in my absence. The police are doing almost nothing about it. In exchange for out help we wanted our freedom back, the files from Luthor destroyed. I have to protect this city, my family. I can't do that if I am only allowed to come out in the shadows. You've read those files, you know who I am under this cowl, and you know that we didn't do what we were accused of."

"But I..."

"Not finished. In the time since the exile that has already been proven to be for false reasons there has been no control on the streets. Criminals in Gotham do not fear the police anymore. It has been that way for a long time. You still need our help. You are not able to deny it..."

Jim Gordon decided to interrupt me for a second time, because apparently I was not allowed to complete any of my rants or explanations. "You know I can't let you do that, I cannot let you run around the city, not now."

"So, are you suggesting we leave the city again?" Clark asked. "And ignore everything that is going on?"

"I'm not...not...saying that..." Jim threw his hands up. "Batman, maybe you would like to explain to your boyfriend here what I am trying to say."

That was when it all clicked. There was more to this then I had previously been reading into. His words were for show. He wanted to make it look like he was doing his job, all the while doing what I had considered to be the right thing. I was impressed, but also a bit confused as to how I did not catch on to it earlier.

I was losing my touch. And, if I had to guess, it was about ten thousand percent Clark's fault. 

I smiled. I decided to accept that I was getting more and more stupid every moment that I spent with him. At this rate, Damian would need to become my replacement simply because I wouldn't be smart enough. 

"Fiance, actually," 

Jim raised his eyebrows again. The boyfriend comment had only been a joke, but I took it up a notch.

"Get out of my sight, out of the city, the state, probably the country! We will not give you another warning!"

***

"What? What just happened?" Clark asked after we were out of the police station.

Commissioner Gordon went against the Federal Government, temporarily disabling the cameras so we were able to make a quick escape. He wanted us to go forward with our plans. Or rather, Clark's plan. 

Baby steps, but progress either way.

"You are...adorable," I whispered, before grappling up onto the rooftop of the nearest building.

Of course, being who he was, he followed me, catching me in a warm embrace. 

"I love you,"

I chuckled. "I love you, too, but we should really consider calling it a night. Recollect and return with a better plan of action."

"I hope that is not the only thing we will be doing," He said with his eyebrows raised. 

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, babe, I need to get you out of this damn thing. I've only ever tried to take that suit of yours off in my nightmares. It just seems way too complicated. Besides, babe, you look so damn good naked."

I chuckled again. "Alright, let's go back home...and I will take care of the undressing."

***

It was like two titans clashing together in battle, but this was much sweeter. Pleasurable. Magnificent. Absolutely incredible.

Our lips crashed together, in tune with our bodies as we moved against each other in a perfect rhythm. Somehow, this was so much better than any time before, radiating with love at completely brilliant heights. 

We had finally managed to make it into the bedroom, completely naked by this point. I hadn't left time in my schedule to care about Damian or Alfred possibly seeing us on our way. This was the only thing I allowed to be on my mind.

Clark shoved me against the door, mouth exploring every inch of bare skin available. He moved lower, trailing his lips down my chest and down my stomach, paying special attention to the more sensitive areas.

When he stopped he was on his knees, staring up at me with his beautiful blue eyes. He licked his lips and wrapped one of his large hands around my cock, stroking painfully slow.

Before I knew it his mouth was on me. I bit back a moan as my head tipped back against the wood of the door. I threaded my fingers through his thick hair, tugging gently when he did something I liked.

He lifted his head off of me, the strange, obscene sound almost making me laugh. He wiped off his mouth and quickly rose to his feet, immediately lifting me up into his arms and carrying me to the bed.

He threw me down. I found myself out of breath, chest heaving. Clark crawled on top, taking more of my breath away with his lavishly passionate kisses. 

Using his amazing strength and agility he had me flipped over on my stomach before I could even open my mouth to protest.

"Clark!" I shouted into the pillow the moment that his tongue joined his two fingers. I felt like I needed to move my hips up, but he kept a firm hand on my lower back that held me in place. 

Regardless, I was growing highly impatient. I wanted him, no, needed him inside of me. My body craved him. 

My tightly closed eyes shot open and my nostrils flared the moment he began nibbling and biting my thighs. Teasing, above all else. 

I could not wait any longer. 

"Fuck me, Clark! Please!"

He started to laugh, his breath ghosting against my skin in a tickling sensation. I moaned.

Suddenly, he had an arm under me. He hoisted me up onto my knees, positioning himself behind me. Once again, I was breathing incredibly heavy. 

He slicked his throbbing shaft down with lube, wiping the excess on me. And, then my breathing became even heavier.

His hands gripped onto my hips and he thrust inside. Just like that...

 

To be continued...

**Author's Note:**

> Started this before I saw da movie btw...


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